


Returning to Love

by RyoChi28



Series: Finding Family [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Amaya stays, Dinah Lance is not a good mom, F/M, Gideon worries, Jax Stays, Martin Stein Lives, Metahuman Leonard Snart, Metahuman Mick Rory, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Quentin Lance Lives, Quentin loves his daughter and new son-in-law, Rip Hunter Lives, Sara and Len talk about kids, Sara is sure she can't have kids due to death and Lazarus Pit, Time Travel Dates and Honeymoon, Wedding, Wedding Planning, mentions of death and killing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 44,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27092554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyoChi28/pseuds/RyoChi28
Summary: When Len appears in the Arrow Bunker as an Ice and Time Metahuman, bonds are formed stronger than he ever expected. Upon the Waverider's return, Sara holds back. Will she be able to overcome her own worries, fears, and insecurities? Or will she lose Len to Team Flash and Team Arrow?
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, John Diggle/Lyla Michaels, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Roy Harper/Thea Queen, Sara Lance/Leonard Snart
Series: Finding Family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977415
Comments: 39
Kudos: 35





	1. Leonard's Frozen Return

Felicity Queen and Quentin Lance sat in the Arrow Bunker while the team hit the streets against their latest enemy aiming to destroy and/or take over the city. Honestly, Felicity quit paying attention to the goals at this point. They all tended to blend together. She was hacking away at their enemies’ servers, trying to shut them down and to find where their leader was currently holed up.

Suddenly, the room’s temperature began to decrease to the point of goosebumps rising over the girl’s arms. The two looked up to see a bright blue light originating from the sparing area that was growing in intensity. They stood up, quickly shielding their eyes against the blinding glare of the light. Quentin slammed his hand down on a silent alarm they’d had installed by Cisco. It was a way to alert Oliver and the rest of the team when the Bunker was compromised. 

Just as quickly as it came, the light dissipated. In its place, on the cushioned mats, was a body. The man pulled out his handgun and, after making sure the younger woman would stay behind him, he slowly walked towards the form. The closer he got, the more he could hear the popping of ice. He got to the edge of the mats before he could really see the man lying there in enough detail to recognize him. From the gasp behind him, it was obvious that Felicity recognized the man as well. 

“Leonard Snart,” the woman murmured, almost reverently. 

Quentin turned to look back at her, “That thief that went off with Sara? I thought the Flash said he died two years ago.”

Felicity slowly nodded, “He did. He died giving us back free will. He was a Legend.”

The older man shook his head, “Is it the same guy?”

The blonde bit her lip, glancing to the table at the side of the room. “I can check.” She rushed over to the table and grabbed the scanner laying there before running back over to where the man stood. 

Quentin quickly grabbed the scanner before the woman could use it herself, “I’m not about to let you go over to someone we don’t know, especially since multiple universes are a thing now. Donna and Oliver would have my damn head if he’s only playing opossum.”

She huffed, watching him walk over to the other man and point the scanner at him. Crossing her arms over her chest, Felicity watched him struggle for a few moments before rolling her eyes and sighing, “Need help?”

He sent her a glare before deflating, “Fine.” He held the scanner out to her.

A smug smile lit up her face as she took it, “My pleasure.”

He snorted even as he stepped out of the way for her to slip past him. He watched as she pressed a button and a light beam shot out, moving over the man’s form. After a moment, a small noise came from the machine. He heard her gasp and watched her hand slip over her mouth as she slowly turned to him, “It’s him, Quentin. It’s our earth’s Leonard Snart.” She looked back down at the thief with a certain amount of awe. “Sara and Mick are going to be so happy he’s back.”

The man walked towards the prone form, “Is he breathing?” He was watching the man’s chest closely as he knelt beside him. He reached out to touch him before shivering, “He’s cold, too cold.”

Felicity snorted just as the Bunker doors slammed open to reveal Oliver with his bow raised and an arrow notched while Diggle slipped in right behind him, gun out and aimed. When the two found no one attacking their hideout, they stopped, very confused as to what the problem was.

Oliver cleared his throat, “Who hit the panic button?”

Quentin stood, “That was me. We have a bit of a situation over here.” He met the younger man half way. “We were working on the hacking,” he was interrupted by Felicity clearing her throat, to which he gave her a withering look only to receive a sweet and innocent smile, “Felicity was working on the hacking, while I held down the fort when it suddenly got real cold in the room and then came a blinding light. Next thing we know, it’s gone but we got the guy laying there.”

Felicity glanced around in excitement for a moment until she started to wonder about the chill lingering in the air. Oliver stepped over to his wife, brushing his fingers lightly over her forehead, “You both are alright?”

She nodded, “We are.” She smiled gently at him for a moment before turning her attention back to Quentin. “Is he alive, Quentin?”

The man slowly nodded, “Yeah, but he won’t be if we don’t get him warmed up. He literally has ice falling off his skin.”

Diggle and Oliver frowned while Felicity rushed off to find blankets and anything that could be used to warm the man up. The archer turned his attention to the gadgets table to retrieve the other scanner. He walked over to the prone man and quickly scanned him, causing the machine to sound off a special tone.

Quentin looked up at him, “What does that mean?”

The blonde-haired man stared at the machine in his hand, “Are you sure he’s from this earth?”

“That’s what Cisco’s scanner said. Why?” Felicity glanced at her husband for a moment before laying the blankets she found over Leonard’s body.

The archer pinched the bridge of his nose, “Leonard Snart wasn’t a Meta, was he?”

The woman shook her head negatively, causing him to sigh.

Diggle stepped closer to the group, “So, why don’t we just call Barry and let him deal with all of this? He’s his supervillain, right?”

The blonde-haired woman frowned up at her friend, “He’s really more of an anti-hero at this point. He’s a Legend, Diggs.” Suddenly, her eyes widened, “We have to call Sara. Her and Mick are going to be so happy to have him back. They were both devastated when he died, even if it was for free will.”

John nodded his agreement while Quentin eyed her. Oliver nodded, contemplating the scanner in his hand. With a deep sigh, he turned to Felicity, “Which one do you want to call: Barry or Sara?”

The woman shrugged, “Do you know how to work the communication set up to call Sara on the Waverider?”

He glared at a spot over her shoulder for a moment before huffing and pulling out his cell phone to call Barry. Felicity smirked before hopping over to her computer setup and pulling up the frequency to contact the Waverider. While Oliver watched his phone for a moment, Felicity sent her call through. It was answered quickly, “Hey, Felicity. Is this an emergency?” Sara’s voice sounded hurried and stressed.

“Well, no. But there’s someone here that I know you’d really like to see.”

“If it’s not an emergency, we’re going to have to wait. We have a situation here that’s more important than popping in for a visit, whoever it is that you may think we want to meet. I’m sorry. We’ll be there as soon as we can, but we can’t make any guarantees.”

Felicity opened her mouth, but the line cut off after what sounded like an explosion. She sighed, “Hope you have better luck with Barry, Oliver. The Waverider can’t come in right now.”

Oliver sighed, “We’ll see, I guess.” He finally pressed the call button beside Barry’s name and waited for a couple of rings before it was answered by a breathless Speedster.

“What’s up, Oliver?”

The archer gave a small sigh, “While the rest of the team was on patrol, Felicity and Quentin hit the panic button because someone appeared in the Bunker.” He was cut off by the feeling of the air shifting around him instantly and the sight of Diggle jumping.

Barry stood in the middle of the room, looking around as if trying to find the intruder, and ignoring Diggle’s murmur of “Never getting used to that.”

The Speedster turned fully to Oliver, “Where are they?”

The archer motioned to where Quentin still stood beside the covered form. “I’m sure you’ll recognize him.”

Barry sent his friend a confused look before walking over to the ex-police captain. When he saw who was on the mats, he froze, eyes widening. “Snart?” He murmured.

Oliver walked over, placing a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, “According to Felicity and Quentin, he suddenly appeared in a bright flash of blue light. The frequency scanner from Cisco says he’s from our earth, but the Meta-scanner says he’s a Metahuman.”

“But Snart wasn’t a Metahuman when he left for the Waverider. I mean, it’s possible that he had the gene, and it hadn’t awoken before he left.” He stepped closer and knelt beside the other man’s form. “I can’t believe he’s back.” He ran a hand over the thief’s closely shorn hair, “It’s like he never even left. I wonder if he’s been frozen in time.” He shook the pain from the cold out of his hand. “I mean, it’s been, what, two years? It looks like he was actually frozen.”

“Two guesses as to what his abilities going to be,” Felicity snorted.

Barry and Oliver sent her unimpressed looks to which she simply shrugged with an innocent smile. Both men shook their heads as Diggle chuckled quietly. Oliver turned his attention back to Barry, “What are we going to do? The Waverider can’t make it because of a mission they are on, and this isn’t really an emergency they need to deal with.”

The Speedster nodded, “Sadly, it isn’t. His heart beat and rate are within normal limits and the beat is strong. He’ll probably have to deal with some hypothermia, but if his abilities are ice based, then it shouldn’t cause any lasting damage.” After a moment of watching the thief breathe, he continued, “I’ll call Cisco and Caitlyn, get them both here to assess him. Cisco’s updated the scanner. Now it can tell Metahuman abilities.” He glanced up at the others, “At least, it’s supposed to, but I’m not completely sold on it yet. He’s only tested it on people we already have in the database.” He stood and wandered over to one of the corners of the Bunker to call his team.

Felicity turned to her husband, “So should we be getting things ready for Snart’s transport?”

Quentin cleared his throat, “I don’t like the idea of moving him right now.” He cut Felicity off before she could protest, “I’m not talking about his past as a thief. I’m talking about his health. You said something about him meaning something to Sara, so I don’t want to put him at risk any more than he already is.”

They nodded in understanding. Felicity realized that it was possible that even though the man was breathing fine and had a good heart rate, it didn’t mean that it would stay that way. They’d seen it happen too many times, and that thought suddenly worried her. 

Moments later a breach portal opened up and the other two members of Team Flash stepped through. Cisco stepped over to Barry while Caitlyn immediately got to work on checking Leonard. 

The engineer stood in front of Barry, “So are we sure this is the Snart we know?” He paused, “Ok, I’m not even sure the one that went on the Waverider was the Snart we know.”

Barry rolled his eyes, “Just because you can’t see the good in Snart doesn’t mean it isn’t there. And yes, it’s him. Your frequency scanner says it is. Your other scanner also says he’s a Metahuman.”

Cisco put his hands up, “No, that wasn’t a thing before all the time travel.”

The Speedster eyed his friend, “So you’re telling me that your machine isn’t working correctly?”

“Blasphemy,” Cisco scoffed. After a moment of staring the other man down, he finally sighed heavily, “Fine, I’ll go and Vibe him, see what I can find out, and make sure my tech isn’t malfunctioning in some way.”

Caitlyn looked up from where she’d taken her third vial of blood. Cisco stepped up beside her, running his hand through his hair. He slipped on his gloves and goggles before taking a breath and placing his hand on the thief’s shoulder. Once he went still, the woman turned to the rest of the room, “You have an ultrasound here, right?” She brandished a syringe and needle. “I need to get a urine sample.”

Barry groaned, “What is it with you and urine samples? At least you waited until I was awake to try and get a sample from me.” He paused, “You did, didn’t you?”

Caitlyn shifted her eyes away from him and onto Felicity, ignoring her friend, “Ultrasound?”

They exchanged looks before Oliver cleared his throat, “Is that necessary right now?”

“Do you have a medical background?” The woman countered.

The archer conceded that point. Barry stepped in, “How about we wait until he’s conscious?”

She huffed slightly but nodded and put her supplies away. Before she could say anything further, Cisco gasped. They all turned to him as he stared at the man before him in awe. He blinked himself out of his stupor. He glanced around him before taking his goggles off and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Did anyone else know that Snart and Sara were a thing?”

Felicity groaned, “That’s what you came back with, from all of what you had to have seen, that’s what you took away from it?”

He shrugged, “I’m trying to not think about the burning pain from the explosion.” He turned to Caitlyn, “Have you checked his arm? There’s probably some heavy burns there.” His attention then shifted to Barry, “I saw his eyes glowing blue, a different blue than what was coming from the Oculus thing. I felt this burning pain, and then I felt everything become very cold. I think the explosion awakened his Meta-abilities.”

Caitlyn raised the sleeve to reveal lacerations and burns, causing the woman to gasp and get to work. She began to clean the wounds, treat, and wrap them. 

Felicity turned to Cisco, “There’s a reason I called Sara so quickly. Her and Mick really cared about Snart. I mean, she told me about the entire Dominator dream from her point of view.” She turned to Quentin, “The Dominators showed her a world where she had both Laurel and Snart, alive, and with her. Leonard and Sara were together in their world, engaged even. She didn’t want to give that up but knew she had to because that world was fake.”

Oliver shuddered, “I almost didn’t come back. Not because I was marrying Laurel, but because I had her and my parents back. Tommy was alive, and Malcolm wasn’t the psychopath he’d become. The Island never happened. We were all happy for once in our adult lives, all of us. I didn’t want to lose that.”

John nodded, “It had to have been extremely hard for Sara to leave that. I know Thea wanted to stay since your parents were still alive and all of their indiscretions were erased.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I still dream about what they showed me, what they gave me through their hallucinations.”

Cisco sighed, waving a hand towards the prone man, “I guess this is going to be a good surprise then. That kiss I saw may have been a goodbye kiss, but there was a promise there. One hell of a promise.”

Barry nodded, “There’s someone else that’s going to love this surprise.” He turned his attention to his best friend. “Cisco, I need you to contact Lisa. Her brother is alive, and she needs to know. You were the one that told her he’d died; you should be the one that gets to tell her he’s alive.”

The engineer nodded, “I’ll try and get a hold of her. She’s gone quiet again lately.”

Caitlyn cleared her throat, “You should at least try. He would really benefit from having her near him. Especially since it’s going to be a while before Sara and Mick can get here.”

Slowly, Cisco nodded, stepping away from the group to make that call. The phone rang a couple of times, enough times he was sure Lisa wasn’t going to answer. Finally, she answered with a suspicious voice, “Who is this?”

The engineer pulled the phone from his ear to stare at the phone for a moment before putting it back to his ear, “Lisa? It’s Cisco. Are you ok? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Yeah. I’m alright, I guess,” came her soft voice.

Cisco bit his lip, “Lisa, I need you to trust me. There’s someone here in Star City that you need to see. You won’t believe me unless you see for yourself. I’m going to come and get you if you let me know where you are.”

She was quiet for a moment, and Cisco began to worry that she’d hung up on him, until she rattled off an address. They finished the conversation moments later. “Hey, I’m going to go get Lisa from Coast City. I may be a little bit; she doesn’t sound like she’s in a good place at the moment.”

Barry pinched the bridge of his nose, “She lost her brother then exiled herself. She can’t be in a good place mentally.”

Caitlyn looked down at the older man lying beside her. “Him coming back is going to do a lot for her as well.”

Felicity awed, “They’ll heal each other, and then they’ll help Mick and Sara heal as well.”

Cisco slipped on his goggles, preparing to open a breach to the young woman in question, but Caitlyn stopped him, “I need a quick trip back to STAR Labs to start on this blood work and to get a few more things for his injuries and for the pain that he will be in when he wakes up.”

The engineer nodded and breached her to their lab. After she was gone, he turned to his friends, “I’m going to head over to Coast City and see if I can convince her to come back with me to see Leonard.”

They nodded and waved him off. He vibed onward to Coast City and the address she gave him. The remaining group took to watching Leonard Snart for signs of him waking up.

*******

Sara shook her head as she hung up the line with Felicity. Mick grunted at her, and she simply sighed. Nate snorted, “Must be the yearly crossover. Gonna have to pass on this one too since we have time pirates from the future out to kill Sara for whatever reason.”

“I still wonder what Felicity meant by there being something there we would want to see,” Sara murmured.

Rip checked something on his calendar. After a moment he shook his head, “Let’s keep our eyes on the current problem, and worry about other things in our time period later.” He wasn’t sure which life event was occurring back home, but he knew it was important for them to finish their current problem in case they were to bring things home with them and screw up the timeline. He knew, if that happened, they would all hate themselves and the timeline would crumble.

They all agreed. Keeping their own teammate alive was more important than what they knew their friends could take care of. As they went on to discuss strategy, they never noticed the two young adults from the future smiling at each other, light in their eyes.

*****

Cisco appeared outside of a small warehouse that he knew Lisa had turned into a safehouse. He took a breath before stepping forward and knocking on the door. It was opened a few moments later by a slightly disheveled Lisa Snart. She took a moment to study him, and Cisco did the same to her. Soon, she stepped aside and let him in.

“So,” her voice was soft and rough, “what is it that you had to tell me, Cisco?”

He took a breath, “Can we sit?” He took the seat she motioned to, “Ok, first I need to tell you about a woman I know named Sara. She was good friends with your brother, like very close. Anyway, um, she was the Canary at one point, but this evil archer guy drugged one of her friends, his daughter actually, and forced her to shoot Sara with arrows. She was hit in the chest area and forced off a building’s rooftop. She was dead on impact. A year later, Sara was alive again. In fact, she’s the White Canary now.”

Lisa sighed, “Cisco, why are you telling me this?” She sounded so tired, and Cisco’s heart broke for her. 

He watched her for a moment before leaning back in his seat, “Because, I need you to know that what I’m going to tell you is possible. I know someone personally that it’s happened to, and she’s been in the news if you want to have Hartley look her up. Mick knows her really well too.” She slowly nodded, still not sure where he was going with it all. Cisco sighed, “Lisa, we were called into Star City today by the Arrow. Someone he knew meant something to the Flash, showed up in his bunker in front of his wife and the White Canary’s father.” He swallowed, “It was Leonard Snart, Lisa. Your brother. I vibed him,” he had to quickly interrupt her, “I know it’s your brother. I could see his past, I read his frequency. He’s our earth’s Leonard Snart. He was lost in the time stream, I guess, I don’t really know. All I know, without a doubt is that your brother is alive, unconscious, but alive, and he’s going to need you when he wakes up. He’s going to be weak after what he’s been through, and he’s going to be in pain, especially the arm that was in the Oculus. It was pretty badly burned. When the Waverider gets here, we’ll see about their AI healing it. Of course, Caitlyn may jump on the chance to work on something to fix it up quicker.” He caught her eye, “Lisa? What are you thinking?”

She sighed after a moment, “I don’t really know. I mean, I want to believe that he’s alive. I know you wouldn’t lie, especially not after what happened with your brother, but I don’t know if I can let myself believe he’s back.”

Cisco smiled gently, “I get that, Lisa, I really do.” He bit his lip, “How about I take you to Star City to see him for yourself? You can decide what’s real and what’s not for yourself.”

After a few moments of debate, she nodded, “Ok.”

He stood and held out his hand to her. It took her a minute, but she finally stood and took it. “Ready?”

She shrugged, “Sure.”

He opened a portal and gently tugged her through. He smiled at the amazement on her face. It was nice to see a look in her eyes beyond the sadness or emptiness. They came out on the other side to enter the Arrow Bunker. 

The group turned at the sound of the portal opening, watching Cisco lead Lisa out of it. Barry met the two as they stepped out. “Hey, Lisa. Snart’s right over here.”

The brunette had lost a lot of her well-known bravado, and her grace was missing. Cisco and Barry guided her over to the prone man. When her eyes landed on him, she stumbled forward, nearly falling as she scrambled towards him. Barry darted forward to help steady her and then helped her over to her brother.

Lisa slowly reached out to the man, almost afraid to touch him, afraid of hurting him. Felicity and Quentin knelt on either side of her. The blonde rested her hand on the other woman’s shoulder, gently rubbing circles there, “Caitlyn’s already looked him over, Lisa. She said he’s going to be ok. He’s going to need some recovery time, some physical therapy.”

The brunette looked over at her, eyes wet with unshed tears, “It’s really him?” Felicity nodded with a gentle smile, “And my brother’s going to be ok?” Again, both her and Quentin took turns reassuring the woman as many times as she needed.

Barry watched sadly before glancing over to his best friend to see an almost pained look in his eyes. He tapped the engineer on the shoulder before motioning him away from the sparing area of the Bunker. Slowly, Oliver and Diggle followed. The blonde didn’t necessarily like the fact that he had a career criminal in his base that was allowed to roam free. But he would make an exception with Lisa Snart in this moment, especially with how the remaining members of Team Flash were reacting to her, the way Felicity and Quentin were reacting to her. 

Barry placed a hand on Cisco’s shoulder, “Are you ok, Cisco?”

The other man sighed, “Yeah, more or less. I mean, I just hate seeing Lisa, of all people, so broken. It’s just so strange.”

The Speedster nodded, “Both of them have always seemed so strong and larger than life, right along with Rory. They’ve always seemed almost invincible, even though they were always just humans. They led the Rogues, kept a bunch of Metahumans in line and from killing anyone during their sprees. If they didn’t fall in line, they tended to end up at the precinct.”

Oliver cleared his throat, “I’m glad to know that they had a code, but what are we going to do with him? This isn’t the best place to keep a thief turned Legend. There will be questions from the rest of my team, and some of them can be a little trigger happy.”

Cisco eyed him, “Them or you?”

The archer eyed the younger man right back, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Diggle snorted, “You really have to ask that? Literally the only thing stopping you from startle shooting nowadays is William and the threat of Felicity’s wrath.”

Oliver glared at his friend while Barry snorted, bringing the blonde’s attention to him. He shrugged, “What? It’s not like Diggs is wrong.” He turned back to Cisco, “Do you think Caitlyn would be finished with her tests? Would she have the results back? I’m usually asleep while she’s running them.”

Cisco raised an eyebrow at his best friend, “And by asleep, I’m guessing you’re acknowledging all the times you’ve been knocked unconscious?” 

Barry scowled at him for a moment, “Are you going to answer my question or continue to insult me?”

The engineer smirked at him, “I’ll go and ask. Keep an eye on Lisa, and let her know I’ve gone to check on her brother’s test results if she asks about me.”

The Speedster nodded, “Of course.”

Moments later Cisco opened a portal and walked over to STAR Labs. Oliver stepped closer to Barry, “Do you trust Snart and his sister?”

Barry gave the question the thought it deserved before nodding, “I do. Snart changed while he was on the Waverider. He was changing long before that. Jax, Professor Stein, and Ray could only talk about how much he changed and what kind of hero he’d become. He saved every one of their lives, including ours. He saved Sara’s spirit Ray told me. She’d been ordered to kill Professor Stein in Russia if they weren’t able to get him away from Savage’s men. Snart called her down when she was going to shoot him. Snart was the only reason she didn’t do it and go back to being that killer we know she doesn’t want to be.”

The archer sighed. He’d heard that too. Ray was more than happy to tell everyone that would listen about how much of a hero he’d watched the internationally wanted thief become, especially after he’d asked his friend what had happened on the Waverider to cause Sara to be so upset with Barry for wanting to change the past to save his family. For a group that literally broke time and changed it so many times themselves, it seemed hypocritical. That was when he’d gotten the story of a crook and assassin that got closer than he ever thought was possible. 

“Besides,” Barry continued, “I did invite his partner to my wedding.”

Oliver had to give him that. Rory had been invited, and he’d given them a lot of gifts, obviously sure the man would need the money from the gifts’ returns or the gifts themselves. It still made his stomach roll at the thought of how unfair he and Felicity had been to Barry and Iris at their wedding after everything that happened already to ruin their day. 

Diggle cleared his throat, “I still agree with Quentin that we shouldn’t move him yet anyway. We’ll have to wait on Caitlyn on that go ahead. I’m going to get one of the medic cots ready just in case he can be moved, but Meta-movement could be too much.”

Oliver and Barry watched him walk away to another portion of the bunker before returning their attention to the three knelt over the one man only Barry and Lisa ever saw the good in.

******

Cisco hopped out of his portal with a slight shake. It was unnerving to have seen Lisa like that. Caitlyn looked up from the test results she was reading. She frowned at the sight of him, “Did Lisa not believe you?”

The engineer glanced up at his friend blankly before blinking back to attention, “No, she believed me, kinda. She wanted to believe me, but she was scared. She followed me through my breach to see for herself.” He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose, “She nearly broke, Caitlyn. She was scared to touch him. I’ve never seen a hesitant Lisa, but that was exactly what was happening today. She’s not herself.”

The doctor slowly nodded, “Of course she’s not herself, Cisco. Her brother died. She’s still trying to work through that since it was so long afterward that she found out and now suddenly he’s alive again with no explanation. That’s a lot to take in, and it’s going to be even harder for her to take it in with him unconscious at the moment.”

Cisco ran a hand through his hair, “I know. Rationally, I understand that, but it's still hard to see.”

Caitlyn watched him for a moment before nodding knowingly with a small smile on her face. She shook her head at the questioning look the engineer sent her. “Oh, no, my girl, what’s that look for?”

She shrugged as she went back to looking through her microscope at Leonard’s blood. “I just think you’re obvious. That’s all.”

“Obvious?” Caitlyn snorted at the disbelieving tone in his voice. “What am I obvious about?”

The doctor simply shook her head with a chuckle. After a moment, realizing she wasn’t going to answer him, he sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. He looked around the room before walking over to her desk and leaned against it, watching her.

It took a few minutes, but she eventually leaned back from the microscope and blinked slowly, trying to clear out her vision. “Well, this will be some good news for Lisa. With the amount of ice and the levels of hypothermia involved, his cells should be dying or at the very least degenerating, but they aren’t. In fact, they’re reacting to damage a lot like Barry’s do. It seems that on top of his ice abilities, and whatever he was possibly given by the Oculus, Leonard also has enhanced healing.”

Cisco didn’t know if he wanted to groan at that or not, but he had to admit that it would help Lisa. “At least we can let Lisa know that Snart’s going to be healing up well.”

Caitlyn nodded as she walked over to the print outs, “His blood work is all coming back as incredible as well. There are some increases in the chemistry values for muscle damage, but that’s understandable with the ice and hypothermia. Hopefully, he’s going to be waking up soon.” She motioned back to the microscope, “His healing ability could also decrease the need of the Waverider’s presence very soon. In fact, if he continues to heal at the rate his cells are presently showing, we won’t need the Waverider. He’ll heal perfectly fine on his own and soon. Leonard’s healing factor isn’t quite as fast as Barry’s, but it’s close.”

Cisco swallowed thickly, “Good. That’s good. The same can be said about his arm? The one that was badly burned from the explosion?”

The doctor nodded, “It will. It may take longer than the rest of him due to the extensive nature of the injury, but it should heal up soon, completely.”

The engineer gave a deep sigh of relief, “I’m going to head back and give Lisa the good news. I’m sure she’ll want to be the one to let him know as soon as he wakes up.” His eyes widened slightly, “Oh, that reminds me, about moving him?”

She nodded, “He can be moved, but I don’t want him moved by Meta. We don’t know how Barry’s speed or your breach will react with his Oculus energy let alone whatever abilities it may have given him. It would also be best to wait to move him completely until after he’s awake. I don’t want him having a reaction during transport because we can’t be sure what kind of reaction he could have. It could be his usual, fairly controlled reaction, or, since he’s been wherever he’s been the past couple of years, he could react violently.”

The man sighed, “And that wouldn’t end well on the road. Too many possible bystanders to get in the accidental crossfire.” He lifted his hand, creating a breach, “Send me a text when you’re ready to head back. I’m sure Lisa would like to hear how her brother’s doing from you, officially.”

Caitlyn nodded as she went back to work. Cisco shook his head, acknowledging the dismissal for what it was, and stepped through his breach to the Arrow Bunker.

He stepped out to see Quentin still knelt beside Lisa, an arm around her shoulders as she leaned against him. The engineer was slightly taken aback by the sight, but he felt it also showed the kind of father Quentin was. Yeah, the man had made some mistakes over the years, but he always did everything he could to let his daughters know he supported them. Now he was giving that support to a young woman he’d never met before, that was a known criminal. Yes, she hadn’t pulled any heists since her father was killed, even some time before that, but she was still known as the Golden Glider. She still ran the Rogues for her brother, still made sure they followed the rules, but she hadn’t been out as the Golden Glider in a couple of years. But, he supposed, she wasn’t the Golden Glider at the moment. She was Lisa Snart. A young woman that had lost everything in her life, had only known of heartache and pain in the placement of parental love, and suddenly, she had her one family member, the one that gave her the majority of her support, back in her life. She was broken and confused and it was so much for her to take in. Cisco got that. He wasn’t sure what he would feel if suddenly his brother was back, but he thought it may be like what she seemed to be feeling. 

Barry placed his hand on his best friend’s shoulder, squeezing slightly to get his attention, “What did Caitlyn say?”

“No physical movement beyond getting him to a bed. No Meta-transport. At least not until he’s awake and has gained some of his coordination back. She’s looked at his cells, and she thinks he has healing on par with you, Barry.” Cisco’s eyes never left the form of Lisa.

The Speedster sent his friend a knowing look before shaking his head, “That’s good then. You need to go on over and let Lisa know. I’m sure she’s waiting for that update you told her you were going to get.”

The engineer nodded before slowly stepping away, missing the wide smile Barry sent the others or the one Felicity sent him in return, even the heavy eye roll from Oliver. Cisco was on a mission. He had to face Lisa once again. He had to tell her that her brother was going to be ok according to Caitlyn, that it was only a matter of time before he awoke. 

When he reached the three of them, he knelt at their sides and began to speak, “Caitlyn had an update, Lisa. He should be waking up soon since he now has enhanced healing as well. It’s actually helping him with the damage that his ice powers should be causing. As soon as all of that is healed, I bet he’ll wake up and snark at us all.”

Lisa gave a watery laugh, “That’s his signature, that’s for sure.”

Quentin ran a hand up and down her back in comfort and encouragement, “See. That brother of yours is strong and just keeps getting stronger.”

She turned to look at the older man with a somewhat shy smile and a nod. “He’s always been the strongest person I know. He’s always been my protector, even when I didn’t think I needed one.” Lisa turned her attention back to Leonard, “When Cisco told me he’d died protecting his team of time traveling superheroes and giving free will back to the world, I didn’t really know how to feel about it all. Lenny had always been my hero, even though he’d always claimed to never be one. Then he went and died like a hero, and left me.”

The ex-cop nodded slowly, “He did, and now he’s alive again. You got your brother back, and you two can be a family again.”

Lisa had to admit that sounded wonderful, but she wasn’t sure either of them knew how to be a real family. Their only example had come in the form of pain and abandonment or loss. She knew what she longed for, but she wasn’t so sure she’d ever get it. 

Cisco gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him in slight surprise, eyes watering. He tugged her close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She relented and curled into his side. Her eyelashes fluttered against his neck as she closed her eyes. A shuddering breath drifted across his throat. It suddenly hit him just how deep he was, and he wasn’t sure he was going to get himself out of it. He was also pretty sure he understood what Caitlyn’s comment meant. Oh well, at least she was teasing him and didn’t seem to have a problem with the idea of him being with Lisa, eventually. Now was not the time to pursue anything beyond being part of her support system. She’d been through too much too quickly to add his developing feelings for her into the mix.

Lisa tucked herself into the young man offering her comfort. She’d always liked Cisco, but she’d never felt like he’d take her seriously if she were to try anything romantic, and of course now, when it was possible he’d be interested, she wasn’t mentally in a place to take anything emotional anywhere. She hated timing.

Felicity awed at the sight before her, nudging Barry, “That won’t be a problem will it?”

He shook his head, “No. Nothing’s going to happen right now anyway, mostly because Cisco isn’t going to be willing to take Lisa away from Snart.”

The blonde hacker snorted, “And he’s terrified of Snart.”

The Speedster hummed his agreement. She wasn’t wrong, that was for sure.

Oliver shook his head before walking over to the small group. John had just stepped out of the temporary bedroom. They were in for the long haul. Whatever Sara had said to her already had Felicity attached to the man that once tried to kill their friend. He slipped over to Leonard’s other side and knelt beside him.

Quentin looked up from watching the engineer and thief to give a questioning look to the archer. Oliver’s silent look of reassurance let the ex-cop know he wasn’t about to enter his ‘Green Arrow’ mode.

The blonde archer softly cleared his throat, “We have a space we can move him to that’ll be more comfortable for him and you, Lisa.” He turned his attention to the engineer, “Help me pick him up and move him?”

Cisco nodded, not completely sure he would be able to hold up the man’s weight, especially with wet clothes covering his body.

Barry jogged forward, “Do you have any clean clothes that would fit Snart, Oliver? I doubt leaving him in wet clothes from the melted ice will help his body temperature and healing.”

Oliver motioned to one of the lockers, and Barry quickly walked over to it and retrieved the sweats there. They were large, looking to have been able to fit Diggle and not Oliver due to length. He stood in the small room moments later, not really knowing how to move forward with the actual changing of Snart’s clothes.

Lisa stuck out her hand, “I can help with that. He’s my brother, and I can tell you aren’t comfortable with changing him.”

Barry shrugged, “If need be, I can. Yeah, it’s a little uncomfortable to think about changing him, but I’m more worried about Snart not being comfortable with being changed.” He handed the clothes over to the woman.

Quentin took them instead, “You shouldn’t have to worry about maneuvering your brother around to change his clothes. When they get him situated in the other room, I’ll take care of it.”

She smiled weakly at him, almost shyly, “Are you sure?” At his nod, she returned it slightly, “Ok. Just,” she paused for a moment, glancing over at her brother before glancing back at the older man, “Lenny doesn’t like people seeing him without a shirt.” She bit her lip, “There’s a reason he’s always wearing layers.”

Quentin placed a hand on her shoulder, “I understand. When I heard that Sara was going on the same ship as him and Rory, I did some digging. Barry here may have erased his crimes and all evidence of it, he didn’t get all of his prison records. There was an extensive write up on his many wounds, new and old. I’m sure there are a lot of new ones, but I know about the more extensive ones.”

Lisa nodded, still not completely ok with her brother’s scars still being on display, but she couldn’t bring herself to not at least partially trust the man that was showing her so much parental affection. Barry slipped in with Oliver, taking over Cisco’s spot at helping the archer get the male thief to the bed. Quentin followed right behind with the clothes in his hand. 

Lisa stayed behind, not really sure what to do with herself, a feeling she wasn’t used to. There were so many things coming at her, suddenly, that she felt off kilter. She’d been planning a major heist for the Rogues, one that she wasn’t going to be a part of because she wasn’t ready for that kind of role, hadn’t been since she’d learned about her brother’s death. Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand gently laying on her shoulder, getting her attention.

Felicity rested her hand on the young woman’s shoulder, “Let’s come sit down over here by the computers until they’re done. Then we’ll just have a long wait until your brother wakes up.”

Lisa allowed herself to be led to the center stage area with the seats and computers. The thief glanced around, making sure to keep her hands in her lap. She really didn’t want to incur the rage of the archer known for having killed the majority of his enemies when he started out. She cleared her throat, “Um, is this really ok? My brother and me staying here without supervision?”

The hacker and the soldier blinked in surprise. The man slipped his feet from the table, “You aren’t really in a place where you can do much damage. We have cameras up, and besides, you wouldn’t do anything to put your brother in danger.”

She nodded because that was true enough. She still didn’t really know what to do with herself though, and again, that was a feeling she wasn’t used to. Felicity, seeming to read her discomfort, stood and offered her hand to the other woman again, “It may not look like it, but this place has an epic shower and an incredible soaker tub. I’ll show you so you can use it. You need some de-stressing while you wait for your brother to wake up from his nap.”

Lisa gave a tired chuckle as she followed the blonde’s lead, “Thanks. I feel like I haven’t been a human in a very long time.”

The hacker nodded her understanding, “I felt like that for years after my college boyfriend killed himself in federal prison. It was worse when we lost Oliver to the League or Roy to exile.” They came to a stop in front of the door to the bathroom. Felicity hesitated for a moment before looking up at the brunette. “I will never say I know how you feel. Honestly, the closest I’ve come to what you’re feeling is when Sara died for a year. Laurel knew what you are feeling the best, and now Sara does since Laurel died. Every one of us has lost people we knew and loved. I want you to know, Lisa, you aren’t alone.”

With teary eyes, Lisa nodded, giving another wet chuckle before scoffing, “God, I’m becoming so damn weak. It’s all Lenny’s fault.”

The blonde laughed, “Go clean up and try to relax. I’ll bring you some of Laurel’s old workout clothes.”

The female thief nodded and slipped into the room, closing the door. The hacker quickly rushed off to grab the clothes. She frowned at the fact that she could only find sports bras. “Don’t the Lance sisters know what work out shirts are?” She mumbled out angrily.

She grabbed pants, a sports bra, and one of Oliver’s hoodies. With a sigh, Felicity headed back to the bathroom, knocked on the door, and opened it before she got an answer. “So, Laurel had no idea what work out shirts were and mine won’t fit you, but I got one of Oliver’s hoodies. Not one of his special hoodies, but one of his everyday ones. He’s got way more than a rich-boy should…” She cut herself off after she finally looked up from where she was placing the clothes. “Wow, that looks like that hurt.” Her eyes widened as she clamped her hands over her mouth, “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have barged in like that, and of course I have no filter most of the time, so whatever comes out of my mouth doesn’t always process properly. I’m sorry. Sara never really minds, and I didn’t think.”

Lisa put her hand up to stop the other woman’s further comments, “It’s fine. No harm done.” She motioned to the scar on her shoulder, “Like I told Team Flash, I got this for being a daughter. Dad was always teaching Lenny and me lessons.” She covered the scar with her hand and wrapped her other arm around her waist. “We were apparently slow learners since the lessons never stopped. Lenny took as many as he could for me, but he wasn’t always there. He couldn’t be. Dad got him sent off to juvie. That was when this happened. Lenny never forgave himself for it. He was able to bring Mick into the family, and he helped keep us safe, but Lenny still felt like he was responsible for me getting hurt.”

Felicity was quiet for a moment. She didn’t really know how to respond. She was fairly sure Lisa wouldn’t appreciate a hug, especially in her state of undress. The blonde deflated slightly, “He is a good brother,” she kept her voice soft but made sure there was no pity in it at all. There was no reason for pity now. Leonard was home.

The brunette nodded before motioning towards the bath, “Thanks for this and the clothes.”

The blonde quickly nodded in return, “Of course,” she rushed out, “I’ll head out and let you get that nice and relaxing bath.”

The hacker slipped from the room and gave a small breath of relief. Another part of her was sick from what she saw. To know that such a wound came from a child’s father made her stomach turn. That man was supposed to protect his children. She didn’t miss the way Lisa hesitated at the idea of Quentin changing her brother’s clothes. She was obviously worried about the older man seeing her elder brother’s scars. She also knew the way so many people tended to judge others because of such marks. She walked back out to her computers and simply stared at the screens still running the algorithm she’d started against their current enemy. It was strange to think that less than two hours ago, they were working to save their city from the most recent psychopath, but now their attention was focused on the ex-criminal that had captured a special place in the hearts of two of their closest friends. 

Diggle watched the emotions crossing over his friend’s face. He cleared his throat, “So, Snart and Sara?”

Felicity blinked back into awareness at the man’s voice. When it registered what he’d said, she chuckled, “According to Sara, yeah, there was something there. They never got the chance to explore it because of the explosion happening so soon after whatever they had was acknowledged.”

The man shook his head, leaning back in his chair, “I wonder how things are going to work out now with Sara seeing Ava.”

The hacker huffed, “I don’t know, but hopefully Sara will choose the better of the two. I mean, at least Snart treated her like a partner and equal.”

John smirked, “Ray regrets ever venting to you after that whole werewolf thing.”

The woman shrugged sharply, “Sara’s been used like that enough, just on the Amazo. She doesn’t need it from someone that’s supposed to love her.” She motioned back towards the bathroom with one hand and where they’d taken Leonard with the other, “We see two examples of that not happening right here. They didn’t ask for the crap that was piled on them, and Snart was actually working on trying to break that cycle.”

Diggle ran a hand over his head roughly with a harsh sigh, “What is our lives that a career criminal is a better match for our friend than her no-nonsense strait-laced rule maker girlfriend?”

Felicity eyed him, “A world where that friend is a master assassin and the captain of a time ship traveling all over time saving it.”

The man simply gave a heavy sigh. What the hell had his life become? He blamed Oliver for this, all of it. Silence reigned in the Bunker as the two waited for the others. Cisco was the first to emerge, followed by Barry. The Speedster looked profoundly angry. The engineer was more uncomfortable than anything. His eyes darted around, concern taking center stage.

Felicity spoke softly, “She’s getting a bath.” She watched Cisco’s head turn towards her as she continued, “She needed a way to relax after all of this.” She glanced at Barry, “What’s wrong with him?”

Cisco sighed, running his hand through his hair, “I think hearing about scars and seeing some of them are two very different things.”

The other two glanced at each other before the room went quiet once again.

********

Quentin and Cisco followed Barry and Oliver as the latter two men carried Leonard Snart to the bed area Diggle set up. The engineer noted the water trailing them. They sat the older man in a chair, and Quentin quickly rushed over to start the process of changing and drying him.

Cisco turned his back to the scene. Lisa wasn’t comfortable with Quentin seeing the scars their father put all over her brother. He doubted she’d be ok with all of them seeing. He heard Barry gasp and give an angry growl. That was when he knew it was time for him to go. The sounds of Oliver and Quentin kicking Barry out just strengthened his decision. He, followed shortly by Barry, entered the quiet of the rest of the Bunker. He only heard his best friend utter, “If only that jackass wasn’t dead, he’d have a hand through his heart instead of an icicle.”

Yeah, Cisco was glad he’d looked away when he did.

********

Oliver shook his head as he watched the younger men leave. He turned his attention back to Quentin, “So, you volunteered for this, how do you want to do this?”

The older man rolled his eyes, “Just keep him stabilized. I’ll take care of everything else.”

The archer huffed but did as he was told. It wasn’t long, and only slightly complicated of a time, that the two men had Leonard dried and dressed in his new clothes. They then moved him to the bed and settled him under the covers.

Once they were satisfied with everything, and that the other man was still sleeping soundly, they headed back out to the main area. It was only a few minutes later that Lisa appeared, nearly swimming in Oliver’s hoodie. Quentin walked over to her and gently guided her to where her brother was. He didn’t speak until they were both settled at his side, “Now we wait until he wakes up.” He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. “He’s resting just fine right now, and Snow’ll be back soon to look him over again.”

Lisa nodded, staying quiet for a moment. She could feel the comforting motion of the man’s thumb gently rubbing on her shoulder. Finally, she turned to the older man, “Why are you doing all of this?”

He shifted his attention to her, “What?”

She sighed, “Being nice and comforting to me. I know you know who my brother and I are. You mentioned it yourself. Why?”

Slowly, he nodded, “Yeah, I know exactly who you and your brother are, but I also know that you both have good hearts. My baby girl wouldn’t have grieved for your brother otherwise. Allen is the same way. As for you, Allen and that Ramon kid obviously have soft spots for you. I’ve heard about your scars just like I heard about your brother’s. Looking at your brother’s when I was getting him in those dry clothes made me sick at the idea that a father could do anything like that to his children. My girls and I butted heads, I ain’t gonna say we didn’t, but I never felt the need to hurt them. Not those days when being a cop became its hardest, and not when Sara was at her wildest.” He squeezed her shoulder, “You and your brother didn’t ask for any of this. Leonard did the best he could with you and himself to watch out for.”

She was quiet for a moment before deflating, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you are a little more flexible since your daughters both became vigilantes and one was an assassin.” She gave a watery chuckle, “Of course my brother would fall for an assassin.”

Quentin chuckled, “And of course my baby girl would fall for a thief.”

Lisa smiled at the older man, “So this Sara did fall for my brother?”

He nodded, “There was someone Sara was mourning when she came home and found out about her sister, Laurel. She told me he was someone she could see a future with, which coming from her meant a lot. She's the one I figured would never settle down. She’s with some strait-laced cop type that I don’t think is good enough for her.”

Lisa giggled, “You’re her loving father. Of course, this person isn’t good enough. That’s apparently how good fathers are supposed to be.” She gave him a smile, shrugging the shoulder his hand wasn’t on, and curled more into the hoodie, “Mine threatened to sell me for booze money if I didn’t make myself useful. Or if Lenny didn’t do what he wanted.”

The two went quiet after that. They settled into a comfortable quiet, waiting for the older brother to wake up.


	2. Wake Me Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The awakening of Leonard Snart.

Two days and many vibe trips for Caitlyn later, and there was still no indication of Leonard Snart waking up from his coma-like sleep. His cells were still regenerating as they were, and his arm was healing well. As far as she could tell, that was most likely the reason he still hadn’t awoken. His body was taking all the time it could to fully heal himself. In fact, the arm, she noted as she examined it, was nearly completely healed of the burns and gashes. 

Done with her exam, she turned to Lisa as she stood close to Cisco and Quentin. The older man had become very attached to the young woman in the time they’d been staying in the Bunker. Of course, Felicity was the thief’s other near constant companion. She’d even met William at one point, and he’d become enthralled with her stories of wild or methodical heists she and her brother had pulled off. The boy especially loved hearing of Leonard Snart’s face offs against the Flash. Caitlyn couldn’t wait to see how the boy would react to meeting Leonard finally, beyond seeing him in his coma-like state. 

The doctor cleared her throat, “He’s nearly completely healed. I estimate that he should be waking soon, possibly even by the end of today. He’s looking great. All of his vitals are exactly where they should be. When I looked at his cells under the microscope the last time, the hypothermia noted in the tissues has also been completely healed. All-in-all, your brother is healthy.”

Lisa’s shoulders slumped slightly as the weight of most of her worry slid away. Caitlyn knew it wouldn’t completely disappear until Leonard had awoken. “So,” the brunette thief quietly spoke, “He’s going to be ok? He’s just taking this time to sleep and heal?”

Caitlyn nodded, “And I see him waking up in the next couple of days.” She rested a hand on the other woman’s shoulder, “He’ll be back up and annoying everyone real soon.”

It was a few hours later that Caitlyn was proven correct by a groan from the comatose man. Quentin was with Lisa at that time, having ushered Felicity from her new best friend’s side to work on her hobby of hacking into the digital lives of their latest villain. Her husband needed her at the moment, so he decided to take up the other chair beside Lisa and make sure she was taking care of herself. He never thought he’d feel so much responsibility for a thief, but he did. When he looked at her, he saw a little girl that had been let down at every turn by everyone but her brother. There were so many moments in his own life that he could have made a different decision that left Laurel and Sara to live Leonard and Lisa’s lives. It made him sick to think, but it also made him sick to realize a police officer would fall so low.

The moment the groan was heard both of their attentions shot straight to the man in the bed. They instantly noticed the moment his eyes blinked open before squeezing shut tightly. Lisa was by his side in a blink, hand tightly gripping his. “Lenny?” She made sure to keep her voice quiet and gentle. “Hey, Lenny, can you say something?”

He simply groaned once again, shifting his head towards her and away from the light. Quentin quickly dimmed the lights before returning to her side. She smiled as he knelt beside her. She turned to him, “He squeezed my hand, Quentin. He knows I’m here.”

The older man smiled gently at her. He was glad her brother was finally showing signs of waking up. 

The man groaned again, but this time it sounded more like Lisa’s name. She gripped his hand tightly as his eyes opened again. He blinked quickly, eyes clearing. Immediately, his eyes find his little sister’s. As soon as it registered, he tried to claw his way up to the young woman. She quickly stood and gently pushed him back onto the bed. “Don’t try to get up, Lenny. You’ve been in a coma for a while. What’s the last thing you remember?”

He held his head as he pushed it back into the pillow and murmured, “Sara.” Suddenly, he tried to sit up again. “Sara?! Mick?!” He began to struggle as Lisa tried to keep him in bed. 

Quentin jumped in to help the young woman, “I need you to calm down, Leonard. Sara and Mick are safe on the Waverider right now. They had to leave on an urgent mission. They are both perfectly safe.”

His eyes were wild as he turned them on the older man, “The Oculus?” His voice was strained.

The ex-cop gripped Leonard’s shoulder, “That was a while ago, Leonard. They made it out safely thanks to you. You saved my baby girl.”

The male thief watched the other man for a moment before swallowing a couple of times, “You’re Sara’s dad, Quentin Lance.” Leonard’s voice was rough from disuse. 

Quentin nodded, “I am. You got her out of there. Thank you.” He watched the younger man blink slowly. There was some obvious exhaustion in his eyes. “How are you feeling?”

Leonard seemed to think on the question for longer than it should take. He blinked once again. “I’m fine.”

“You’re full of it, Lenny,” Lisa quietly spoke. 

He huffed a laugh. “Never could fool you, Lis.” He sighed heavily, “I’m tired. You know how much I hate feeling this tired.”

She gently rested her hand against his cheek, “I know, but I promise we’ll take care of everything you need. You are the strongest person I know, Lenny, but you deserve some rest after everything.”

He gave his sister a soft smile before slowly closing his eyes. Lisa leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. Quentin gently patted his shoulder, “Get some sleep. We’ll let the others know you’ve woken up and then got back to resting.”

The man opened his eyes and stared at the other man, “Others?”

Lisa giggled, “You were found by Team Arrow when you appeared half frozen, and they called Team Flash and the Waverider. That’s how we know about the Waverider’s mission. Caitlyn’s taken over as your doctor, so she’ll want to know you’ve awoken.”

The man tiredly sighed, “Scarlet?”

Quentin chuckled, “He’ll be here later. He had work to get back to.”

The man groaned loudly, hands placed over his face. He was going to need that sleep in order to deal with a hyper Speedster in a few hours. 

Lisa laughed as she stepped out of the room to announce her brother had awoken. Leonard sighed before shifting slightly, as if testing out where his pain was. After a moment, he quietly sighed again. Quentin watched him in slight awe. Not one noise was made and the only way he knew the man was moving at all was because he was watching him. The thief glanced up at the ex-cop, and there was slight embarrassment in his eyes. 

Leonard cleared his throat, “Don’t suppose you’d tell me where the bathroom is?”

Quentin understood the embarrassment. He’d been checking his strength and came to the conclusion that he’d need help getting there. “I’ll lead you there.”

Without making a large production of it, the ex-cop helped the thief to stand and make his way to the bathroom. Trying to give the man as much privacy as possible, Quentin turned his back. He heard a soft harsh intake of breath just before the other man began to relieve himself. Once he was finished, he made his way shakely to wash his hands. Done with that, he leaned heavily against the sink, hands planted. “Got a question, Lance.” Said man hummed out his acknowledgement. “Don’t remember that little act being so damn uncomfortable, so what exactly was done there?”

Quentin’s eyes widened at the question, “That’s probably from the catheter Dr. Snow placed. You’ve been out, completely unconscious, for three days. She wasn’t sure how long it was gonna be and didn’t want you getting an infection on top of everything else.”

That made sense, Leonard supposed, but it was still an uncomfortable thought. Quentin seemed to recognize that fact and moved over to help the man back to his bed. Once he was resting in the bed again, Leonard finally settled in to sleep. Lisa smiled at the sight of her brother, so obviously exhausted, settling in and falling asleep almost the moment his head touched the pillow.

Quentin squeezed the young woman’s shoulder before heading out of the room. She was going to be ok. They both were. They both had more support than either of them ever realized they had, and the number of people in that category kept increasing. 

Felicity glanced up when the man walked into the room. Noticing the change in the blonde, Caitlyn looked up from where she was reading her latest analysis. “How is he?” The brunette stood from her table and walked over to the center stage area Felicity sat in. 

The man walked over to the seating area up the steps. “He’s alright, considering. Had to break it to him that he had a urinary catheter. That was a little awkward.”

Caitlyn pouted slightly, obviously upset that she didn’t get a urine sample to run on top of all of her other tests. The man shook his head. Felicity snorted, “He’s at least asleep now, right? He’s got to be tired even if he’s been sleeping so much.”

Quentin nodded, “Yeah. He’s exhausted.”

The doctor sat down her tablet, “Now it's a truer rest that he’s getting. This sleep’s about rebuilding his strength not healing.”

They went quiet. Felicity took the time to text Oliver to let him know that their resident thief had awoken. Part of her wanted Leonard and Lisa to stay for a while. She’d created something of a friendship with Lisa and wanted to get to know the Leonard Snart she so lovingly told stories of. She knew Barry had been contacted. As soon as Leonard was released, she knew they’d be heading right back for Central City. They’d just have to point Sara and Mick to Central when they were finally able to get home. 

The room fell into silence, only clicking of keys filled it.

*******

It was another few hours before Barry sped into the Bunker excitedly looking around. He spun around slightly a couple of times as if looking for something before finally landing on Caitlyn. “I thought you said Snart was awake.”

The woman nodded, “He was. He’s been sleeping since though. He’s still a bit weak. Fortunately, he’s actually getting the chance to rest and simply sleep. Lisa said she’d let us know when he woke up again. I’m going to be the one to see him first. I need to run some tests on him, and I won’t have you tiring him out again, Barry, before I get the chance.”

The Speedster deflated slightly. He slumped into the chair beside Felicity. Quentin shook his head, “I’m going to go warn Lisa.”

Barry watched him head towards the other area and disappear behind the door. After a moment of studying the man’s leaving, he turned to the two women, “He’s become attached.”

Felicity nodded in a distracted way, “Happened fast too. It’s probably because of Laurel’s death.”

Caitlyn shrugged, “I don’t know if that’s all. I mean, they have a lot of past that paralleled. Quentin just made different decisions than Lewis.”

The CSI hummed his agreement. His own life could have followed the Snart’s as well. It wasn’t a good thought, but it was the truth. He leaned further back in his seat, “I think it’s a good thing for the both of them. Lisa hasn’t really had much in the way of people caring about her, especially father level people. Snart’s going to balk at the idea, but he needs it just as badly. And it’ll be good for him to get close to Quentin.”

“Why’s that, Barry?” Oliver’s voice startled the Speedster who nearly fell out of his chair.

After righting himself, he continued, “Well, if what Cisco saw in his vision is to be believed, Sara and Leonard Snart were possibly supposed to have a future. If, when they come back, they decide to continue where they left off or get back to that place, Snart should probably be in good graces with her dad.”

Felicity glanced over at him, “Sara’s still dating Ava.”

The man was quiet for a moment, “Seriously? Still? I thought that had ended after that fight about Ava killing anything that may threaten her authority, including Sara’s self-confidence.”

The archer grumbled, “We’ve tried talking to Sara about it, but she’s never been one to stand up for herself, so she’s not going to fight for herself.”

Barry shook his head, “She’s so much stronger than all that, and yet she’s too worried to hold her ground on the subject. It's sad, really.”

The group was quiet. They all had some level of hope that the return of Leonard Snart would cause some major ripple effects. They all went back to what they’d been doing, now waiting for Quentin to return with news of the other man being awake again. Barry sat back and watched them all, deciding to take the time to simply rest.

*********

Quentin stepped into the space the Snart siblings were using as their own for the time being. He could hear the quiet murmurs of the two and knew Leonard had reawoken recently. He cleared his throat, catching them both by surprise, and he supposed that spoke a lot to the level of exhaustion they were both facing. “Since you’re awake, Caitlyn wants to do a full physical and run some tests. She’s claimed first dibs since Barry just sped in all excited to see you awake.”

Leonard groaned. Of course, Barry was already here. He was tired just thinking about that possible conversation. The Speedster was definitely going to hit him with a ‘told you so’, he just knew it. 

Lisa giggled at her brother’s pending pain. “You’re simply his favorite Rogue, Lenny. You should be used to it by now.”

The man rolled his eyes before tilting his head towards Quentin, “I suppose I shouldn’t keep either of them waiting, or they’ll never go away.” As the older man nodded and slipped back out of the door, Len turned to Lisa, “You should go out and hang out with your new friends.”

It was the woman’s turn to roll her eyes, “I’m not five, Lenny.”

“I know. But Snow’s going to be doing quite the thorough exam if Barry, Jax, and the Professor are to be believed. I don’t need you by my side for everything, and,” he squeezed her hand, “I’m not going anywhere. She won’t let me if nothing else.”

Lisa laughed slightly as the door was opened again and the doctor stepped through the entryway. The younger sister stood and patted her brother’s shoulder patronizingly before passing Caitlyn with a smile. 

The doctor was glad Lisa was starting to be a little more like her old self, at least when it came to her brother. Once the younger Snart was out of the room, Caitlyn turned to the man who was watching her closely. “Ok, Leonard. I’ll try to make this as quick and painless as possible, but I’m going to have to give you a full physical and a battery of tests to make sure that everything is still working as it’s supposed to.”

He nodded, “What have the tests said so far?”

She smiled at him, “That everything is working better than ever.” She sat down beside his bed. “We believe the explosion from the Oculus caused your Meta-gene to express itself. I’m not sure if Lisa told you, but when you arrived, you were encased in ice. We’ve had the chance to create a device that picks up the changes in a person that occurs when they become a Metahuman. It says that you have that change in genetics which many times occurs from near death experiences, especially if the abilities come out much later than the Particle Accelerator explosion.”

“So, I’m a Metahuman now? That explains the whole encased in ice thing. So, what does that mean for me?” Leonard sat up in his bed, settling in to the conversation.

The woman shrugged, “Training to learn to better control it. I know both Barry and Oliver want to work with you for the training.” She began to work on getting her supplies out and ready to perform her tests. “I’ll be letting them know when I release you for that because I don’t care how well you’re healing, it’s not fast enough.”

“Fast healing? What do you mean?” The man eyed her.

She frowned, “Lisa and Quentin didn’t tell you.” She sighed, “Your cells are regenerating much like Barry’s just slightly slower. You should have full body frostbite, but that’s not the case. Your cells regenerated and healed any and all damage caused by the ice.”

“So getting blown away was helpful?” He snorted, “First time for everything.” He eyed the doctor for a moment, before pinching the bridge of his nose, “There’s one thing no seems to want to be straight about.” He studied her, gauging how likely he is to get a straight answer once again. “How long have I been gone, blown up, frozen, whatever you want to call it?”

Caitlyn frowned before sighing slightly. She didn’t really want to get into it either, but the man deserved to know. She went about straightening her collection tools before finally settling her sights on the man, hands folded in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she spoke, “Two years.” She watched him for a moment as his eyes widened. She gave him a little time to take that in.

“Two years?” His voice was quiet, almost lost.

She nodded, “Two years. And a lot of things have happened since then. I’ll let Barry tell you as much as he wants to, which will most likely be everything.” The man cut her off with a groan which she chuckled at. “I’m also sure Felicity will be happy to fill you in and get you up to speed on the Arrow information. She’s been looking forward to getting the chance to talk with you since you appeared. In fact, she’s probably been wanting to talk with you since Sara told her about you. When Mick and Sara get back, I know they’ll want to tell you all about the insanity they’ve been through. Mick is more exasperated every time we see him.”

The man ran his hand roughly over his head. “I can’t believe it’s been two years.” He leaned further back into his seat on the bed. He was quiet after that, contemplating. 

Caitlyn began her exam, murmuring to him to let him know what she was doing before she performed that portion of the exam. Otherwise, the room was quiet.

*********

Lisa sat in one of the chairs beside Felicity. The woman smiled at her, nudging her as she sat down. “How’s your brother?” The blonde asked.

The brunette leaned back against the seat, “He’s tired, but he’s feeling better than he did earlier.” She turned to Barry, “He’s already expecting you to come in and see him, probably give some incredible ‘I told you so’ speech.”

The said man frowned, “I wouldn’t give him an ‘I told you so’ speech. That’s just insulting him.”

Everyone present sent him a look that caused him to blush and pout. The doors opened in the back of the bunker but none of them paid attention to what was going on behind them. “Sure you wouldn’t, Barry. You’re not dying to tell him he just proved you right?” Felicity pushed.

The Speedster sighed, “But he’s always had good in him. I’m just glad he was able to find it after all of those years.”

“Who found what after all these years?” A voice sounded from the bottom of the steps.

The group turned to see Thea and Roy. The young woman was the one to speak. Those that knew her could tell how weary she was of the presence of a stranger in the Bunker.

Felicity and Barry stood. Quentin shifted closer to the thief. The Speedster did a quick calculation in his mind, making sure he’d be able to protect the female Snart if Thea decided to attack.

Oliver cleared his throat, “A lot has happened while you and Roy were on your vacation.” He motioned to the conference area. “I’ll tell you about it.”

Slowly, the younger woman nodded, still watching Lisa with suspicion in her eyes. The archer led the couple to the large table as they began to talk in low voices.

Lisa huffed, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “That was intense.”

Felicity sat back down in relief. Barry, however, continued to stand in a faked relaxed posture. The blonde smiled at the Speedster even as he looked around in fake nonchalance. He was already protective, probably always had been.

The hacker rested a hand on Lisa’s arm, “That was Thea, Oliver’s sister. She and her boyfriend, Roy, have been on a vacation for the past few days.”

The thief nodded, turning her attention to the computer screens. Felicity immediately noted the curiosity in her eyes and began to explain what was going on in Star City at present.

A few minutes passed, long enough for Oliver to explain everything to his sister, get her up-to-date and understanding that the two Snarts were there on friendly terms.

The small brunette stepped up on to the computer stage and walked over to the gathered group. “So, you’re Lisa Snart.” It wasn’t a question as the woman looked the other over. “I have to say, I was expecting a lot more style from you.” She smirked at the thief, arms crossed over her chest.

The older brunette brushed her hair back, “Normally my style would blow everyone here away, but lately my brother has been a little more important.”

Thea glanced over at her brother before sighing dramatically, “Yeah, what is it with older brothers always causing their baby sisters to worry ourselves to insanity about them? I mean,” a softness entered her eyes, “we sacrifice so much because they can’t take care of themselves.”

Lisa gave her a small smile, “Lenny’s been doing it since we were kids, but I’ve given him just as many griefs over the years.”

The female archer chuckled, “I mean, same.” She glanced around at the other before, in an act that showed just how easily she could go with the flow, reached out and tugged Lisa to her feet. “Your brother has plenty of people here to watch out for him and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. You need to look after yourself as well.”

Felicity pouted, “Hey, we took care of her.”

Thea nodded as she continued to lead the other woman to the elevator. “I’m sure you did, but Snart was in a coma. Now he’s awake, and she needs a whole new type of taking care of.” She waved over her shoulder with her free hand, “We’ll be back. Don’t wait up.”

The elevator doors closed as everyone watched in stunned silence. “What just happened?” Barry murmured.

Oliver groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, “My sister.”

The Speedster looked over to him, “I’ve met Thea before, multiple times. I know I’m not as close to her as I am the rest of you, but that seemed a little surprising.”

Roy snorted, “That’s why she did it. She lives on finding new ways to do exactly the opposite of what people think she’s going to do.”

Felicity nodded, going back to her computers, “She also did it because Lisa really does need to get out of here for a while. Leonard will be in with Caitlyn for a while longer, and then Barry wants to see him. It’ll be better for her to have a chance to get out and help herself to feel human again. I know I need it each time I’ve had to wait by Oliver’s side.” She turned towards Barry. “The same goes for Iris while you were in your nine-month coma.”

The men hummed in understanding. They settled in once again to wait on word from either Snart.

********

Once the elevator opened again, this time into a hallway, Thea began to lead Lisa to a secret exit and her car. Lisa was watching the other woman wearily. She wasn’t sure she could trust her. She’d come to trust the others in the Bunker fairly quickly, but that was because they were taking care of her brother, and Quentin was showing her what a father should have been. Part of her wanted to trust Oliver Queen’s little sister. She’d never had any real friends growing up, and then most of her friends were because of Lenny or they’d double cross her without a second thought. That notion was probably why she was having a hard time not waiting for the other shoe to drop with the young woman driving. Too many years of having to watch her own back and her brother’s, and that wasn’t something she could just turn off, even for the supposed good guys. It took a major gesture, like saving her life or protecting her brother or being someone her brother trusts. 

“So,” the younger woman started, “you were the one that Cisco kept worrying about even while he was with Cindy? The one he connected with because of the shared loss of a brother?”

Lisa smiled, “We’d connected long before that, but yeah, the news that Lenny died changed our connection.” She settled into her spot close to the door, still watching Thea. “We had someone that understood, and with Mick away on that ship, well, I needed the one person I felt was my friend pretty badly.”

Thea glanced at her for a moment, “Cisco can be really comforting. You know he’s broken up with Cindy, right?”

Lisa nodded, “I know. I’ve talked with him a few times while we’ve been waiting for Lenny to wake up. He was the first real friend I’ve ever had.”

The younger brunette smiled, turning her attention back to their drive. It was upsetting to think that someone had not had a true friend until they were well into adulthood. She knew that her own high school friends had never been true friends, but she’d always had Sara and Laurel. She pulled into the mall parking lot.

Lisa looked around and noticed where they’d arrived. “The mall?” She looked at the other woman. “You’ve taken a career criminal to the mall?”

Thea eyed her, “You’re acting like you’re the only one that’s ever nicked something from a boutique.” She slipped out of the car, smirking at the laughter in the other woman’s eyes. “Those earrings, bracelets, and sunglasses got a lot of mileage. Not to mention the sandals and the couple of shirts that also fell into my purse. Granted that was back in high school and no respectable public relations officer of the mayor’s office would do anything so disrespectful.”

Lisa snorted, “Sure, but they’d have no problems with running out at night, jumping across rooftops, shooting people.”

The wild smile the younger woman gave her told her that everything she said was true. She looped an arm around the thief’s arm, leaning against her, “I promise to behave if you do.”

Lisa sighed heavily as if it were the biggest chore she was ever forced to complete. “Fine. Just don’t ask where my money came from.”

“Of course,” Thea scoffed. “Now, onward to shopping. I know workout clothes can be comfortable, and I know Ollie’s hoodies are comfy as hell, but sometimes, sweats are just not enough to make anyone feel human.”

Lisa hummed her agreement. She was going to go with things and if something happened, well she’d be expecting it and react accordingly. In the meantime, she was going to have some fun with someone close to her own personality. Who knows, maybe this outing could end with Lisa getting someone else in her corner.

******

Caitlyn quietly slipped out of the room with her samples. She turned to Barry after she sat them down on the table in the lab space she’d been given. They were all looking at her with worry in their eyes. She gave them a reassuring smile. “He’s fine according to his physical exam. You can go in and see him, Barry, but I want to warn you: he knows how long he’s been gone.”

The Speedster nodded, “That’s fine. I was planning on telling him if no one else had.” Quentin made a noise that caused him to turn to him. “What? He deserves to know. Besides, it’s not like we can hide it forever. He wasn’t going to live the rest of his life down here in the Bunker after all. It’s better for one of us to tell him as soon as possible so he has the chance to adjust before going back out into the real world.” He shrugged, “Besides, Snart isn’t much of a fan of coddling.”

Quentin frowned, “He just woke up from what could be considered a two-year coma. What would have been the harm in giving him more than a few hours to adjust to being awake?”

Oliver was the one to answer, “Snart is intelligent, very intelligent. He already knew things were different, most likely, especially with Sara’s team not here and Lisa’s disheveled appearance. He’s not one to miss even the most subtle things. He wouldn’t have been the master strategist and thief he is if he did.” He sat heavily beside his wife, “He’s going to appreciate someone being up front with him much more than someone continuing to put off giving him information.” He glanced at the time, “And it’s time for me to go pick William up from school. I know he wants to see his Uncle Barry, but I think he’s going to be even more excited to finally see Snart awake.”

Felicity laughed, “He’s been carrying around his Captain Cold figure in his backpack since we told him he was down here. I’m almost sure he wants to see what Leonard thinks about it, get him to sign it, or get him to play with him with it.”

Oliver stood up, nodding his agreement.

Quentin eyed her, “Isn’t he fifteen?”

The hacker raised an eyebrow at him, “Ok, one what does that have to do with anything? And two, no, he’s thirteen.”

The older man’s hands went up in a placating motion. He really didn’t want Felicity of all people mad at him. He knew what she was capable of.

Barry simply shook his head, “I’ll be sure to warn Snart in case he wants me to sneak anything in or out for him.”

That received a snort from Felicity, a huff from Oliver, and a put-upon sigh from Caitlyn. Barry snickered as he walked into the room Leonard was using. A smile spread across his face as he walked over to the thief.

Leonard eyed him as if waiting for the Speedster to comment on, anything really. Barry took the seat beside his bed and leaned back, arms crossed over his chest, smile still in place.

After a moment, Leonard finally sighed, “Go on, Barry. I know you’re dying to say something.”

The younger man simply shrugged, “What’s the point of me saying anything at all? You’ve already proved to yourself everything I’ve ever said, and I know that means more to you than anything you could be told. I get just how cheap words are to you. You and your sister have been told things all your lives and most of the time, they didn’t mean anything, so nope I’m not gonna tell you anything like that.” He stretched his arms out, “Lisa was spirited off by Oliver’s younger sister, by the way. Mostly to get her out of this place, to help her feel more human finally. So, they’re probably going to the mall.”

The thief blinked, “The mall? Baby Queen took a thief to the mall?”

Barry’s smile increased, “You act like Thea’s always been a good girl. In fact, you act like Thea is a good girl now. Oliver told me that when he first got home, Thea got into a wreck on her birthday, totaling her brand new car because she’d gotten upset at her party and taken vertigo. That’s been a few years, and she’s definitely matured since then, but she’s still a bit of a wild one if Oliver is to be believed.”

The older man was quiet for a while, before smirking at the Speedster, “So you let a known drug user take my innocent baby sister to the mall?”

Barry snorted, “Lisa is not innocent. I’ve heard the things she used to whisper to Cisco, and I can read lips. Even when I couldn’t hear what she said, I was uncomfortable with what I read.”

Leonard chuckled, “Sounds about right. So, did you have a plan to pass the time until my sister returns from her shopping trip with a Queen?”

The Speedster sat back once again, “I figured I could tell you about what has been going on while you were away, even before the whole...incident.” He looked up to the ceiling in thought, raising his hand and began to pick off things, “There was finding out that there are multiple earths, aliens are real--some are nice some are jerks, I’m not allowed to travel in time anymore, Iris and I got married, Oliver and Felicity hi-jacked our wedding, Nazi’s from Earth-X tried to kill us all at mine and Iris’ first attempt at a wedding, and we met our teenage daughter after she was sent here on some mission to help us by Gideon.”

The thief’s eyes widened, and he had to interrupt the Speedster, “Well, that does seem like an interesting story.” He settled back, waving his hand at the younger man, “Get on with it then.”

Barry laughed, “First, I think I’m supposed to warn you that Oliver went to pick up his son from school, and he really wants to meet you. He’s bringing by something that he hopes you really like.”

Leonard blinked, “I thought I’d only been gone for two years. How the hell does Queen already have a kid old enough to be in school?”

The Speedster laughed once again, “He cheated on Laurel, Sara’s sister, multiple times. One of those one-night stands ended in the girl getting pregnant. He’d been told the baby died before birth, but he saw the mother with a kid in Central when he came to help me out with something that made him question that. It was still a few months before he found out the kid he saw was his son, and that caused some major problems on top of our bout with Savage. Last year, Oliver got full custody after William’s mom and several others were killed after they were kidnapped and taken to Lian Yu.”

“Ah, Lian Yu. Sara told me about that hell-hole.” The older man rested his forearms in his lap.

Barry slowly nodded, “Yeah? Huh.” He shrugged, “Well, the entire island is gone now. One of Oliver’s crazy enemies blew it up. That was how William’s mom was killed.”

Leonard gave a low whistle before shaking his head in slight amazement. They were quiet for a moment before Barry began to dive into his recap of the past few years, trying to bring Leonard up-to-date on it all.

*******

Oliver smiled as William threw open the door, tossed his backpack in and slid into the car beside his dad. The boy watched him for a moment, a slightly hopeful look in his eyes. The man chuckled, “Yes, Leonard woke up today. We’ll see how he’s doing when we get there, but I’m sure he’ll be up to meeting you.”

The boy smiled shyly as he glanced out of the window and turned back to his dad. “Do you really think he’ll be interested in talking to me?”

Oliver ruffled the boy’s hair, “I do, William. I’m pretty sure he’d love to meet you. His sister is out with Thea right now.”

William murmured, “Poor Lisa.” 

Oliver snorted. “I’m sure she can take care of herself.” He glanced over at his son with a smile. He never thought this was something he would have, not after being told the child died in utero, and again when he was told he had to keep the boy a secret even from Felicity. “You know, you might even get the chance to save Leonard. When I was leaving to get you, Barry was going in to talk with him.”

The boy laughed, “Yeah, he’s going to need saving. Uncle Barry’s going to try and compact the entirety of at least two years into just a couple of hours. He’s going to really bombard Captain Cold with so much!”

The archer chuckled as he nodded. “Have you said anything to your friends about meeting Captain Cold?”

William scoffed, “No. I mean the only one I even like talking to is J.J., and he already knows.”

They were quiet for a few minutes before Oliver glanced over at his son for a moment. “So, how does this school year feel so far? I know you’ve just started, but does things feel better than last year?”

The boy shrugged, “I don’t really know yet. I don’t really talk to anyone because the few I have, all they can do is ask about you for their parents. Their parents usually told them to become my friend so that they could get closer to you. I don’t like those types of people. I don’t trust them, especially not after the island, and seeing things that have happened since then. They’re too much of a risk.”

The archer was not happy that his son was already thinking like that, wondering about the motives of the people around him. He knew his son wasn’t going to keep his innocence, not after being kidnapped by two psychopaths and having his mother killed in an island destroying explosion. He just wished he could have kept some of his faith in people, but he was willing to give a known thief the benefit of the doubt, so maybe there was hope. Oliver was fairly sure his son wanted to become friends with the man, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Granted, the rest of his crew and friends were becoming friends with and attached to both of the Snarts, so maybe it wasn’t the strangest thing that could happen.

The man reached over and rested his hand on the back on the little boy’s neck, “I’m sure it’ll get better. You’ve gone into high school now, so there’s a chance that the students could be a better group of people.”

William snorted, and Oliver knew he was reaching as well. Oh well, he tried.

It was another few minutes before the boy spoke again, voice soft, “It’s hard trying to explain that my mom now isn’t my real mom. And, yeah, I love Felicity, but I really miss my mom, and I’m scared that I’m replacing her with Felicity.”

Oliver mentally sighed as he pulled into his parking spot before he turned to his son. “I know you miss your mom, and you always will. I still miss both of my parents every day.” He paused to make sure his son was listening and understood. “I also want you to know that a mom is a mom, and it doesn’t matter if it’s biologically or not. And, Felicity will never want to replace your mom.”

William broke in, “I know. Felicity’s told me that. And I know that she’s basically become my mom even if I’m not ready to call her that. I understand that parents don’t have to actually be related to the person, but it’s hard for the kids in my school to understand that, so I have to make the differentiation.”

The archer understood that. He’d been one of those kids that couldn’t quite understand that concept. Sure, him and Tommy had been like brothers, but that was completely different than a child that was adopted by a family. He and Tommy couldn’t understand that there was no ‘real parents’ or ‘fake parents’, just ‘parents’. He understood now, and he was sure Tommy had figured it out long before he had, but, well, no one ever accused teenage them of being smart.

After a moment, he gave a comforting squeeze to the back of his son’s neck, “I only want you doing what you’re comfortable with. If you don’t like these kids and don’t trust them, don’t force yourself to, but I do want you to have some friends beyond J.J. someday. Ok?”

The boy nodded before glancing towards the car door and the building then back to his father. Oliver chuckled at his son before nodding, “Alright, let’s go have you save Leonard Snart from Barry Allen.”

The boy cheered as he jumped out of the car and ran towards the door. He stood at it, waiting for his father anxiously. The archer shook his head as he slipped from the car and let his son into the building. The boy waved at the workers in the mayor’s office as they headed to Oliver’s personal office and elevator.

William pressed the down button multiple times, his excitement mounting the closer they got to the Bunker. It hurt to know that the boy was already turning so cynical after spending a single year with him that he was questioning his classmates’ intentions, but it was nice to see that he was excited about meeting the thief.

The moment the elevator door opened, the boy shot inside, Oliver following at a much more sedate pace. It only took a few moments before they were down in the Bunker, and William was once again bolting from the elevator. He gave Felicity a quick hug and waved at Caitlyn and Diggle before rushing over to the door that Leonard was behind. He knocked once and barged in to hear Barry talking about the wedding invasion. The boy cleared his throat loudly, startling Barry.

The Speedster jumped, looking over his shoulder at the boy, “Hey, William.” He waved and smiled at the young Queen.

The boy walked over slowly, almost shyly, as he saw Leonard looking over at him as well. “Hey, Uncle Barry.” He kept his gaze to the floor. “Um, hi, Mr. Snart.”

Barry watched William in confusion before glancing over at Leonard. The thief raised an eyebrow at the other man who simply shrugged. “Hello, William. It’s a pleasure to meet a fan,” Leonard greeted smoothly.

William gasped as he quickly looked up at the man, eyes wide. He smiled brightly at the smirk on the man’s face. The man chuckled as the boy began to giggle. His shyness practically disappeared as he ran over to the thief, slipping his backpack off and laying it on the bed. He shoved his hand inside with an increased excitement. He turned to Leonard with a twinkle in his eye, “Have you ever seen your action figure?”

“I haven’t actually,” the man smiled at the notion. He’d been told about it, but he honestly hadn’t seen it yet.

William pulled out the near pristine figure with a flourish. The figure looked mildly like Leonard, but just enough to be able to recognize it as him. Tentatively, he handed it over to the man the figure was modeled after. Leonard turned it over in his hand. He glanced at the boy’s eager face. He gave the young boy a wicked smile, “Have you kept the score between this me and the little toy Flash?”

The boy matched his grin, “That Flash doesn’t know half of what this Cold has done behind his back.”

Leonard blinked before laughing, “May have to take away his hero card.”

William shook his head, “No proof.”

The thief laughed as Barry groaned. The Speedster shook his head, “I’m going to head out before I hear the two of you planning Snart’s next heist together.”

William laughed and Leonard chuckled as they watched the other man leave. Once Barry was out of the room, the boy looked back at the thief. He bit his lip, suddenly feeling shy once again. He wasn’t sure where he could sit, and he didn’t want to bother the man.

Leonard instantly noticed the change in the boy. He knew the nerves weren’t because he was suddenly alone with a thief. They both knew Leonard wasn’t the kind to hurt children, but there was also the fact that one yell would have multiple vigilantes in the next room. “So, William,” he made a motion toward the chair, “tell me about yourself and your role with all of these,” he waved his hand towards the door, “heroes.”

That seemed to calm the boy down as he sat in the chair Barry vacated and began to talk at a much more sedate and reasonable pace compared to the Speedster. Leonard settled back, preparing to comment when necessary. He mentally smiled at the exuberance of the young Queen.

*******

Barry chuckled as he walked out of the room and over to the main stage area. He sat heavily in a chair beside Oliver, slapping his side, “I think your son may be working on being corrupted by our resident Legend.”

The archer smirked, “I think it may be the other way around. Though if, Snart stays around here for very long, there may be some corruption going around on both sides.”

Felicity made an indignant noise as Diggle eyed them. Roy snorted, “The one most likely to corrupt him is you, Oliver. We’re gonna have another obsessive person around here.”

Barry coughed as he sputtered out a laugh, “Snart is already an obsessive person. There’s a reason why there was never any evidence to connect him back to any of his heists. He planned everything out to the very last second, and you did not compromise that.”

Quentin nodded, “Counting time is one of his coping mechanisms. It’s something that he can keep under his control.”

The room when quiet for a moment before Roy cleared his throat, “Ok, so I was meaning an obsession with working out and sparing and things like that, not the undoubtedly depressing and/or illegal things you’ve mentioned.”

Barry hummed, “A little of both?” He nodded, “Yeah, a little of both.”

Roy snorted, “Anyway, how has the other members of this team liked having those two under the Bunker roof?”

Oliver rolled his eyes, “There have been a couple of complaints, but nothing I can’t handle. A few little reminders of the past helped them remember that not everyone has a clean past, least of all them.”

Felicity giggled at the memory of the argument while Caitlyn simply shook her head. That group could be such children sometimes. It was honestly surprising with how Oliver and Diggle were, but Ramerez and Dinah tended to see things in black and white even though the world was completely shades of grey. Joe and Quentin had both been like that at one point, but they’d overcome it, eventually.

******

The hours at the mall flew by much faster than Thea or Lisa expected. Their first stop was a clothing store to get Lisa something to wear for the rest of the day, something more her style. The woman quickly changed into the fitted jeans, gold and cream blouse, and black leather jacket, and off they were. The two of them hit every store in the place, talking and laughing as if they’d always been friends. It was a surreal experience for Lisa. Her and Shawna were acquaintances, but they’d never had a friendship-based relationship. She hadn’t been lying when she said that Cisco was her first real friend. She supposed she could add to that now with the likes of Felicity, Caitlyn, even Barry, and now, apparently, Thea Queen. 

They sat down to eat lunch, still laughing over something they’d seen. As the giggles calmed down, Lisa tapped her paper cup against the table, shaking her head. After a moment, she sighed, “Ok, I have to admit, I’ve never really had a day like this.”

Thea’s eyes widened, “Never?”

Lisa looked down at the table before flipping her hair over her shoulder, sitting taller. Thea watched as the woman’s walls came flying up. The younger woman placed a hand near Lisa’s, worry in her eyes.

The older woman eyed her for a moment, glancing at the hand before looking the young woman in the eyes once again. There was no animosity in her eyes. She wasn’t commenting on her lack of friends as a problem with her, but more of an actual surprise that people hadn’t wanted to spend time with her. The thief shrugged one shoulder, “None of the girls in high school were willing to line up to hang out with the delinquent whose brother had already gone to juvie and dad was a corrupt cop that’d been to jail most of her life.”

Thea frowned before giving her a small smile, “I have to say, all of that would have earned you like all of the friends at my high school.” She shook her head, “We shoplifted, got drunk, wrecked places, did drugs, drove everywhere and anywhere while high or drunk.” The young archer looked away, focusing on her food. “You wouldn’t have wanted to hang out with us, honestly.”

Lisa huffed out a laugh, “Lenny wouldn’t have wanted me hanging out with you. I would have gone along with anything, though I probably would have been the D.D.”

Thea snorted, “We would have let you, I’m sure. Mostly because I’m sure the level of shoplifting would have skyrocketed.”

The tension in the older brunette’s shoulders began to bleed away. “Oh, hun,” she tapped the younger woman’s wrist, “you have no idea.”

The archer blinked before glancing down at her wrist. It took her a moment then her eyes widened and quickly looked back up at the older woman who was dangling the diamond bracelet Oliver had given her. The smile on the thief’s face was wicked and her eyes were alit with mischief. 

Thea began to laugh as she grabbed the bracelet back, “Oh, you are really freaking good.”

The other woman shrugged nonchalantly. “My big brother is an incredible teacher, even if he was very reluctant.”

“Reluctant?”

“Yeah. Lenny didn’t want me following in the family business. He didn’t want to be in the family business, but Lewis didn’t give him a choice. Lenny was disarming security systems when he was eight years old.” She took a sip of her drink, clearing her throat. “Lenny wanted me to continue pursuing ice skating. He always told me he could see me going to the Olympics.”

Thea swallowed the bite she’d taken, “What happened? I mean, did you just not want to go? I wish, some days, that I’d continued with my gymnastics training.”

Lisa tapped her empty cup against the table, “Lewis. I had an audition with an instructor that could have gotten me there. They thought I had a lot of potential, but I ended up having to miss it. I was in the hospital the night before with a large gash across my thigh. Lewis blamed it on my ice skates. Said that I’d tripped and fallen on one because I didn’t keep my room clean.” She fingered the necklace she was wearing. “Obviously that wasn’t the case, but the doctor believed him easily enough. Lenny called and talked to the instructor, but they couldn’t wait on me to heal up and go through therapy. I gave up trying after that.”

The archer frowned with a shake of her head, “I hate men like that, the ones that just can’t stand for someone else they see as beneath them make something of themselves. Dad was never like that. Malcom always said he cared, but after all the messed-up things he did, I doubt him heavily. He’s never actually hurt me as severely as yours hurt you, but he did drug me into doing some things I didn’t want.”

Lisa scoffed, “A jackass that forces you to do things against your will is just as bad as a jackass that beat around on their kids.”

Thea nodded, “There are a lot of different scars for each.”

They were quiet for a moment before Lisa started gathering up her things, “I think that’s enough of all that serious crap. That’s what we were supposed to be escaping.”

The archer smiled, “You’re right. Let’s go. There are still some more places we haven’t graced with our presence.”

“True.”

The two threw their trash away and headed on their way.

******

Thea and Lisa came back to the Bunker baring not only gifts for Leonard but dinner as well. Lisa brought her bags over to the room her brother has been using. She smiled at the sight of her brother talking so seriously with William while fidgeting with the action figure modeled after him. The boy was sitting beside him on the bed. 

“Hello, boys,” the younger woman smirked as the boy jumped slightly.

“Ms. Lisa!” William slipped off the bed with a smile. 

She laughed, “Has meeting Lenny been everything you hoped it would be?”

“Yep!” He turned back to Leonard, “I’ll let you spend time with your sister and get some rest. I’ll finish the story tomorrow.”

The older thief handed the figure back before ruffling the boy’s hair. William swatted at the offending hand while laughing. He waved as he held the figure close, grabbed his backpack and headed toward the door.

“Get your homework done then give Barry and your dad hell for me.” Leonard called out.

The boy turned around, walking backwards, “Not Felicity too?”

The older man shook his head, “Your dad already does enough of that. Besides, I doubt you want to be subjected to that wrath.”

William shook his head sharply, “Nope. Bye, Mr. Lenny.” With that, he walked out of the room.

Leonard watched him leave with slight awe on his face. He’d never thought he’d let someone other than Lisa, and occasionally Mick, get away with calling him Lenny. Yet, here he was, not at all feeling the urge to correct the boy. 

He turned his attention back to his sister who was smirking at him. He rolled his eyes, “So, have fun on your little excursion?”

Lisa hummed with a smile, “I did actually.” She sat down in the chair beside her brother, holding up a bag to him. “And I’m sure you’d love to get into something much more comfortable.”

With a nod, he took the bag from the younger woman and looked inside. He gave her a nod and made the motion to stand. “Ready for that yet, Lenny?”

The man gave her a sharp shrug before slowly standing and making his way over to the joined bathroom. He returned a few minutes later, changed into the clothes his sister bought him. He dropped back into the bed. He yawned and laid back heavily. “Who would have thought an afternoon with Barry and a kid would be so tiring?”

Lisa snorted, “You spent a couple of hours with Barry talking, of course it was.”

Leonard smiled, “You’re not wrong.” He watched his little sister for a moment. “So, did you really have fun?”

She smiled gently at her brother, “I really did, Lenny. It was nice to have someone just hang out and chat. I’ve never really had that, you know.” She looked away for a beat, “Thea didn’t watch me the whole time to see if I was going to steal something, like the girls in high school or Shawna. We were just two new friends getting to know each other while shopping and getting lunch. She said she did some questionable things herself in college, so she had no room to judge me.”

Leonard nodded, “Heard about that drug-based DUI she had to work off a few years ago. She’s come a long way from what I heard. I’m glad, she’s a good kid.” He could feel his sister’s smirk.

“Is that something this Sara told you about?”

Leonard sighed, “I was wondering when this would come.” He tried to hide a yawn.

“We can talk about that tomorrow. Right now, you need to eat before you go back to sleep.”

Lisa stood and grabbed the dinner she’d brought in for herself and Leonard before handing it to him. They ate in companionable silence before the man finally settled into the bed to fall into a restful sleep. 

The younger Snart watched over her brother for a few minutes before standing and stepping out into the other room. Her other bags were sitting at the door where she’d left them. She bit her lip as she eyed them. She wasn’t sure where she could put them. They didn’t have a safehouse in Star, and she didn’t want to assume she could spread their clothes throughout the dresser and items in the room they were using. She glanced over at Felicity and Quentin. With a breath she walked over to them. 

A schematic grid layout of the portion of Star City Oliver and Diggle were blazing through could be seen on one of the computer screens while Felicity was typing madly away at some kind of code on another. The blonde was calling out locations and directions as she typed. Lisa did not want to interrupt, but she also didn’t want to leave their things out and laying in the doorway.

Quentin noticed her standing there and waved her forward. Once she was in hearing distance, he nodded towards the door, “How’s Leonard?”

“Between Barry and William, he’s fallen asleep already. I was able to get him to eat beforehand at least. Caitlyn would be so happy.” Lisa looked back at the bags, “Um, where can I put those? Lenny and I don’t have a safehouse here, so I can’t put it there.”

The man motioned towards the room, “There’s a small dresser in there. I know Oliver wouldn’t mind you two using it. And I know Leonard won’t be leaving for a while yet either. Oliver and Felicity wanted to get to know him alot better before he leaves, and the same could be said about you.” He smiled at her, “In fact, Thea said something about seeing if you wanted to work out with her tomorrow while your brother has a catching up session with Oliver and Felicity, and probably Barry again.”

“Oh, he’s going to love that.” She glanced back at the door once again, “I think I’m going to try and get some sleep as well, after I put up our clothes.” She smiled up at the man, “Thanks again, Quentin, for, you know, everything.”

He nodded with a soft look in his eyes, watching her head back to her brother, grabbing the bags as she went. He settled back at his station on the control stage, feet propped up on the railing. At least things were starting to look up for them for a change.


	3. Training Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Star City group starts getting to know Leonard and Lisa better, and Len begins to train so he can get his strength back.

The next morning, Lisa was awoken by a knock on the door. She slipped out of the bed and opened the slab of wood, finding a smiling Felicity standing there. The blonde held up a couple of foam to go plates, so the brunette stepped out of the way, a look of confusion on her face. Quentin was usually the one to bring her breakfast and eat with her while she was waiting for her brother, but she wasn’t sure if that arrangement still stood.

“Oliver made breakfast this morning because he wanted to make sure you and Leonard ate. And he cooked because he likes to, and I suck at it,” Felicity explained. 

The hacker handed over one of the plates before sitting the other on the table beside the man’s bed and sat down in one of the chairs present. 

Lisa blinked slowly, “Ok.” After a moment, she shook her head and sat down beside her, picking up the other plate and began to eat, eyeing the blonde.

Felicity smiled at the brunette, “I’m glad you got to put away some things. Oliver and I would love for the two of you to stay for as long as you’d like, even after Caitlyn releases Leonard for going home.”

“I think Lenny would like to get to know all of you better too. You are all important to his friend, Sara Lance, right?”

Felicity nodded with a smile, “Yeah. Her, her sister, Oliver, and Thea were all childhood friends. Oliver and Laurel were together for years, but Oliver wasn’t the best of boyfriends in his late teens or early twenties. He was serious with Laurel when he had a one-night stand with William’s mom, and William was born. He tended to try out other ventures before he was shipwrecked. He’s gotten better, mostly because he knows I’m not one to trifle with. I can find all the nice little dirty secrets no one wants me to.”

Lisa laughed around the bite she’d taken. After she swallowed, she shook her head, “You know, just on principle, Lenny’d make sure he’d regret every life decision he ever made if he were to pull some cheating crap like that on you. He’d be even more convincing after he’s gotten to know you.”

“I may take him up on that if it ever comes to that. I don’t think it will, but it’s nice to know that I’d have so many in my corner.”

The two drifted back into silence for a few minutes while Lisa finished eating. Once she was finished, she dropped the plate in the trash and returned to her seat. “So, what’s the agenda for today? Has Caitlyn returned for more tests on my brother?”

The hacker shook her head, “No. Barry had a rough night, so she’s there making sure he heals up properly. It always gets rough when he breaks a bone but has to keep on fighting. Since he has superspeed healing, it tends to heal incorrectly and not stable enough so they have to rebreak it and let it re-heal. His humerus was broken last night in a fight against a new Meta, an earth manipulator. I think Cisco is calling him Geode or something like that.”

Lisa smiled fondly. “Do I need mine and Lenny’s Rogues out there lending a hand?”

“No,” Felicity shook her head, “he’s in police custody now. Hopefully that’ll give Barry enough time to heal up and visit Leonard more before a new destructive Meta comes along.”

“Oh, Lenny’ll love that.” The brunette watched her brother for a moment. “Did Thea say when she was going to be by for that possible workout session?”

“No, but she usually comes in for that at lunch. You’d have time to let breakfast settle if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Lisa tapped her fingers silently against her leg, “I was just wondering if I needed to get a shower now, or wait. I think I’ll wait in that case.”

Felicity was curious as to how much of the noise either sibling made was for the benefit of everyone else. Oliver, Diggle, and Sara all made it a habit to make noise so everyone else could hear them. Mick never bothered, most likely he enjoyed startling anyone he seemingly accidently crept up on. It saddened her to think of the reason why they started the silence. It was great for their criminal occupation, but she knew that wasn’t where it all started, far from it. Just like Quentin, she’d seen the medical reports, even the ones only she could dig up. She knew what scars laid behind the clothes and had enough real-life experience to have a very good idea as to where most of them came from. She also had enough experience to know to not say anything. 

It wasn’t long before Leonard was moving to sit up. That was another thing that fascinated Felicity: their ability to go from completely asleep straight to completely awake nearly instantly. The man’s eyes immediately found his sister before slowly moving to Felicity then taking in the entire room. The blonde didn’t even register the moment he noticed the food sitting beside his bed. He simply picked it up and began to eat.

The blonde raised an eyebrow, “What, no ‘good morning’, no ‘thank you for breakfast’? And here I thought you had manners.”

Leonard snorted as he eyed her for a moment, “Good morning,” he drawled. He smirked, tapping his plastic fork against the plate, “Now a couple of birdies told me you aren’t exactly the cooking kind. I know it’s been a few years and that could have changed, but why bother when you married a wannabe chef that enjoys all that.”

Felicity eyed him in return, “Who are these birdies?”

He took another bite, smirking around the fork. After swallowing, he answered, “One’s a white songbird and the other is an interesting little scarlet roadrunner.”

“Yeah, not so sure how much of a songbird that one is. She’s not a bad singer, just not one you want to hear acapella. As far as the other one, I’m killing Barry later when he comes by to see you, injured or not.”

“Injured? Scarlet must really be off his game with me not there to keep him on his toes.” Leonard went back to eating the rest of his breakfast.

He was playing at nonchalance and unconcerned, but surprisingly they both could easily read the worry tinting his voice. Lisa cleared her throat, “No need to start planning a grand heist anytime soon. Caitlyn will find out, and she will hold you forever.”

The male thief rolled his eyes, “Whatever you say, Lis.” He sat the plate on the table beside him. 

They didn’t need to know, but it was possible that Barry and the Waverider crew got to him. Exploding probably had something to do with it too. He didn’t feel that need or draw to rob a place blind. He knew it would still be fun and thrilling to plan and execute a heist, but he didn’t feel the need to actually steal something. He vaguely wondered what he could do now with his knowledge of planning.

His thoughts were interrupted by Lisa clearing her throat. Felicity chuckled, “You’re right, he does have that brooding look when he starts thinking too hard.”

Leonard scoffed, rolling his eyes even as his younger sister laughed. The rest of the morning was filled with Felicity giving Leonard and Lisa an Arrow based history lesson. She started with a very basic tale of the island and Oliver’s return to Star City. To this day, she didn’t know half of what her husband had been through while away, but she felt they needed some idea of his mindset before going into her placement on the team.

She was able to get through the Undertaking before Thea came by bearing lunch from the nearby deli and to work out with Lisa. The brunettes stepped out of the room in their workout gear and started out light while Felicity continued to entertain Leonard. Instead of simply listening, he commented back, told stories of his own. He kept them light, causing Felicity to have to catch her breath from laughing so hard.

She told him of how she got into hacking, about who her father was. She told the thief of her own brush with federal imprisonment that her boyfriend at the time took instead. He chuckled as he praised her for making such a nearly perfect hack heist. She good naturedly rolled her eyes at him even as she went on with her own story. Leonard told stories of Lisa and Mick, all of the good times. He wasn’t ready to go into the lows, especially with people he didn’t know well. 

An hour after she’d left out, Lisa stepped into the room once again looking as if she’d never even worked out with Thea. Leonard could tell from the way she held herself that she was sore, possibly even bruised, but she wasn’t unhappy or upset. She looked like she’d been having fun, and for that he was grateful. The younger Snart walked over to her brother, gave his shoulder a pat and headed to the bathroom to take a shower once she’d gathered up her clothes for the day. 

Felicity stood and stretched, “I guess that’s my cue to head off to my kinda-sorta job. I mean, I do technically own the Star City branch of Palmer Tech, so I should probably go and see if there is any paperwork for me to do.”

Leonard shook his head with a chuckle, “So Queen and Raymond both lost the same business? And Queen managed to do it twice, correct?”

The blonde smirked, “You’re not wrong, Snart.” She winked at him, “I’ll be back later to talk some more. Oliver will probably be with me.”

“Can’t wait,” came the drawl.

Felicity slipped from the room. Leonard got up and threw away his trash. While his sister was in the shower, he decided it would be a great time to change clothes himself. He really didn’t want to admit it, but he actually enjoyed spending time with Felicity. It pained him even more to know that he enjoyed the time he spent with Quentin, Barry, and William as well. The most incredible thing about it all was that he couldn’t bring himself to mind or even think of it as going soft. 

He made his way back over to the bed. He felt stronger than he did the day before, but he knew it was going to be a while before Caitlyn was going to release him for the kind of strength training he wanted to do. There was also going to be a lot of testing in between. He groaned as he laid back in the bed. That was going to drive him stir crazy, he just knew it. He never did well with bed rest of any kind, but it probably stemmed from not getting any as a child. It didn’t matter the severity of the wound, illness, or injury. He wasn’t allowed to simply sleep it off, not when he had to make himself useful to be kept around. 

Leonard sighed. That was why he didn’t do well on bedrest: it gave him too much time to think and remember. It was times like this that an eidetic memory was a problem. 

A low whistle followed by a chuckle immediately caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder after sitting up quickly to see Quentin walking through the door. “Recognize that sigh and groan. I’ve given them enough times in my life, especially after my heart attack. Trying to figure out if you can make a clean break from bedrest?”

Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose, “That obvious?” He saw the smirk on the older man before the thief covered his face with his hand, “Not really sure how I feel about being made so easily.”

The ex-police captain waved the comment away. “When you raise the daughters I did and worry about the group I have now, you notice when they’ve gotten tired of their hospital stay and are planning to make a break for it.”

Leonard simply shrugged, “Just not used to being able to sit in one spot for long. Never has been a thing for us, no matter how badly we may have needed it, not when we were kids and not after we became adults.”

Quentin nodded in understanding. After a moment he quietly spoke up, “I saw the scars.” He watched Leonard go still as he continued, “Iron Heights had extensive records on you and the rest of your family. I looked through them, finding everything I could about you, your sister, and your partner when I found out you were going on the Waverider with my baby girl.”

“Found the long list of childhood trauma I see.”

The ex-cop nodded, “He was a piece of crap. Glad he’s dead.”

Leonard’s eyes widened, “Not something I usually hear from the good guys, especially not the police.”

“I’ve worked with vigilantes for too long, I guess. I’ve learned in all these years that some people just need to be dealt with.” He paused for a moment to take in the other man’s surprise. “Barry also told me about what that man did to Lisa. I’d have killed him too if it had happened to me. They kept me away from Darkh when it came time to kill him.”

Leonard frowned. “Darkh?”

Quentin slowly nodded in slight confusion, “Yeah, Damien Darkh. He was terrorizing Star City when all of you left out on your time mission.” He gave a saddened sigh, rubbing his eyes, “A lot of things fell apart for me during that whole time. I almost lost Donna, the woman I was and still am seeing. I lost my position at the precinct. But what hurt the most was to lose Laurel.”

Leonard’s attention shot to him, “What? What happened to Laurel?”

The older man leaned heavily back in his chair. He could already see the other man’s mind working, knew he had already figured out the answer to his question but didn’t want to think of what Sara went through without him being there. Cisco’s revelation the other day wasn’t the first time he’d heard about this man being close to his youngest daughter, but he could see everything in the man’s eyes in that moment. 

“Darkh stabbed her during a prison riot with one of Oliver’s arrows. He used magic, so he had a lot of abilities. I worked with him for a while but only because he threatened both of my girls. He was the one that pushed me to kill Sara myself after she came back from the Lazarus Pit.”

The thief nodded thoughtfully, “Sara told me about that, said she came back wrong. We had a long conversation about her bloodlust after she had an episode while we were sparing.”

It was Quentin’s turn to be surprised. Sara didn’t talk to anyone about that, not even Thea when she was on shore leave. But to have a conversation after coming face-to-face with his baby girl’s bloodlust was incredible.

“She talked to you about that just like that?”

“It wasn’t just a whim. It took a couple of months to get to that level, a couple months of cards, drinks, and sob stories. It took that long before either of us felt comfortable enough with each other to spar. Seemed like too much touching.” Leonard shifted on the bed to get more comfortable.

Quentin huffed out a chuckle. “I can understand that. Sara had to really trust someone before she’d let them that close, men especially. I never knew what happened while she was gone for those five years, but I strongly believe that had a lot to do with it.”

“It did,” came Leonard’s soft voice. The older man eyed him in surprise to which he simply shrugged, “It was a night that we were both less tipsy than we let on that she asked why I had such a strong aversion to touch. It led to a long chat about trauma that was fueled by more whiskey.”

Quentin sighed heavily, rubbing his hand down his face. “She said that the two of you had become really close in those few months. I never thought you would be the one that she’d talk to about that time in her life.” He looked up at the man, “And that honestly has nothing to do with you being a criminal. You’re probably the only person she could have brought home, and I would have liked. But, she never even talked to Laurel about that.”

The room was quiet for a moment. Leonard could hear that the water had stopped by then. Lisa would be joining them soon. She wouldn’t be able to ask her questions about him and Sara with the other woman’s father in the room. But, before she came in, he had one more question to ask before she interrupted, “How is Sara doing with Laurel’s death?”

The older man pinched the bridge of his nose, “She pretends to be doing ok, that it doesn’t bother her anymore, but, well, you’ll be able to see it, I’m sure, when she gets here. There’s something that’s been off since she returned for shore leave after they beat that Savage guy. It’s only gotten worse in the last year or so.”

Leonard frowned, really not liking the sound of that. Before he could ask anything else, the bathroom door opened to reveal Lisa fully dressed for the day. “Hey, Lenny.” She blinked in slight surprise, “Hey, Quentin.” She eyed her brother for a moment, “I suppose, Quentin, you’re keeping my brother from making a break for it the first moment he’s alone?”

The older man chuckled as her brother scowled with an eye roll. The remainder of the day, the three of them continued to talk. Quentin was seeing the man that held his daughter’s heart for so long, that he was sure still did as long as she didn’t get in her own way. He enjoyed learning about the man that died to protect his team and return free will. He knew there was so much more to him that what he was willing to show just yet, but he was happy with slowly learning about him and his sister. It was strange that he felt an almost fatherly pull to the two of them, especially since he was fairly sure he didn’t have many years on Leonard.

*******

The work day finished for Oliver Queen. Felicity was heading off to pick William up for the afternoon to take him home so he could work on his homework for the night. He knew William wanted to visit Leonard again, but that would have to wait until the weekend. He had to finish his homework the rest of the week. Besides, it was his turn to get to know the thief.

He descended to the bunker through his personal elevator. He knew Barry and Caitlyn weren’t going to be in because of the injuries the man had sustained the previous night. He should be healed already, but he’d be tired and need the extra rest after also having a full day of work. Besides, the Speedster had a wife he needed to be taking care of after last night.

He arrived in the Bunker moments after getting on the elevator. Once off, he surveyed the area. Thea was there, putting the others through their training with Diggle while Curtis manned the computers for the night. He waved at the group as he walked over to the door housing their visitors. 

He gave a single knock before opening it. He found Leonard sprawled on the bed like a cat, a common sight according to Barry. Lisa was standing, as was Quentin. All three turned their attention to the archer. Lisa bit her lip, glancing at her brother then back at the mayor.

“It’s alright, Lisa. Go on and get dinner. I know you were wanting to try out that place you mentioned far too many times already. Your big brother will be perfectly fine with the Emerald Archer.” Leonard smirked confidently at his sister.

She rolled her eyes, “Alright, Lenny, if you say so.” She patted his cheek before slipping around Oliver and out of the room. She ignored the glare from Wild Dog, contemplating flipping him off as she left but decided against it. He certainly wasn’t worth it.

Oliver watched the woman leave before turning his attention back to her older brother. Leonard swept his arm to encompass the chair beside his bed, “Please, shut the door and take a seat. I’m sure you’re dying to find out all of my dark little secrets, Ollie.”

The archer groaned, “Don’t call me that.” He closed the door even as the other man chuckled. He rolled his eyes before coming to sit in one of the two chairs. He studied the seemingly relaxed thief and could see the tension present in his body. “So, you’re a thief for the thrill?” He mentally cringed at the harsh sounding comment. He didn’t want to start their conversation off as an interrogation, but here he was.

Leonard’s walls began to fly up quickly, his Cold persona falling right into place. “It’s what I do. In fact, it’s why I was recruited to the Waverider. Or is your real problem actually the fact that I’ve killed before because that would be awfully hypocritical of you.”

Oliver huffed out a sigh, “That came out wrong.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not trying to judge you for being a thief or a killer. You’re right, that would be hypocritical of me.” He paused for a moment trying to gather his thoughts.

“I’m glad you see it that way. I’ve only ever killed out of necessity unless it was a learning accident.” The drawl was still in the thief’s voice. 

“Like the man in the theatre that time?” The archer eyed him.

The man nodded, “That was an accident. I was still learning the cold gun’s handling. Of course, no one really mourned him, not with the number of domestic disputes called out to his home. The medical records themselves painted a picture of him not being a human to be missed.”

The blonde was quiet for a moment before leaning forward, elbows resting on his thighs. “Is that why his family had multiple savings accounts created with large donations in each?”

The thief gave a sharp shrug, but the smirk on his lips belied him. The archer nodded sharply. “That’s what I thought.” He watched Leonard for a moment before sitting back once again, stretching his legs out in front of him. “You enjoyed your time on the Waverider? Being one of the grey-scale heroes?”

Leonard snorted, “Right up until I blew up.” He eyed the archer, “But the million-dollar question is,” he fidgeted with his fingers, focusing on them before his sharp ice colored eyes shot directly to Oliver, “what does that mean to you?”

Oliver slowly nodded, “Do you want to return to thieving or the Waverider?”

“I believe that’s a decision I’m still debating.” 

“I understand that. It has to be hard coming back from the dead after two years. Sara had a lot of problems finding her way again after being dead for a year. I had problems rejoining society after five years of hell.” He settled back into the seat, “Caitlyn told you about the ice abilities, correct?” At the man’s slow nod, he continued, “I know you’ve trained on the Waverider with Sara, and once Caitlyn releases you to start doing strength training and such, I want to work with Barry to train you.”

The thief went still for a moment, watching him, “That training include the arrows to the back like Barry’s did?”

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, “He really needs to learn to let that go, especially since he’s already gotten me back for it.”

Leonard’s eyes lit up, “That sounds like a wonderful story.”

The archer groaned, “I’m sure you’ll get a much more delighted story about it out of Barry. He was much more excited about pulling it off than I was when I pulled it off. In fact, he will probably start laughing half way through. I know Felicity starts laughing from the start each time she hears it. I think she gets as much pleasure out of Barry getting me back as Barry did getting me back.”

Leonard smirked, “The next time I see him, I’ll have to ask Scarlet all about it.”

Oliver tried not to grumble too much. He was noticing the thief beginning to relax, if only marginally. He didn’t want all of the walls to go flying up again. Felicity was right that he really needed to think about not only what he said to the other man but also the tone with which he said it. The man could read any inflection that could be put into a word. He didn’t want to make that mistake again, especially if he wanted Leonard to trust him. And as strange as it may have been, Oliver did want Leonard to trust him. This man, this thief was someone his best childhood friend trusted with her life and her father was becoming attached to. 

“Caitlyn could help if that would make you feel more at ease,” the archer offered.

“As medical?”

Oliver shook his head, “As an Ice Metahuman too.”

Leonard’s eyebrow raised, “When did that happen?”

The blonde tapped his foot on the floor, trying to remember the time. “Were you here for Zoom?” At the other man’s slow negative shake of his head, Oliver continued, “I think that may have been around the time after Barry dealt with his dad’s death. He,” Oliver paused for a moment, “had to leave for a while to clear his head. When he came back, a lot of things had happened, like Cisco’s brother dying and Caitlyn having powers. There was also a psychotic killer Speedster on the loose trying to kill Iris.”

Leonard grunted, “Heard about that. Said that everything went nicely with the psycho-Speedster. That makes how many of those though? And they all really have it in for Barry’s loved ones.”

The archer nodded, “Yeah, we’ve all noticed that, him especially. You’re probably going to be on that list if you aren’t already. Just wanted to warn you.”

The thief groaned but Oliver could tell it was all for show. “So,” the thief decided to continue the conversation, “Dr. Snow is now a Metahuman. Who else in their little crew is? Mrs. Allen, Detective?”

Oliver shrugged, “Cisco’s one as well. He can make portals and read the, as he calls it, vibes from items to find out information about the owner. It was how he found the main ship of the invading aliens while Sara, Ray, Digs, Thea, and I were escaping a prisoner ship.”

Leonard went still, “You know, Barry mentioned something about alien invaders very briefly. That is a story I believe I would greatly enjoy hearing.” He then cut his eyes at Oliver, the blonde noticing a light of mischief in the thief’s eyes, “So does this mean you were abducted by aliens, Oliver?”

The blonde rolled his eyes, immediately understanding what the thief was implying. “Haha,” he deadpanned. 

“So, Ollie, what was it like? Little green men or were they more human than creepy alien look?”

The archer pinched the bridge of his nose before leaning his head back to gaze at the ceiling, wondering why he had to be the one to bring all of this up. “Not little, not green, but they were humanoid. Kinda. Creepy for sure.” He pulled out his phone and quickly pulled up a picture. “This was courtesy of Felicity.” He handed the device over to the thief. “Though, I do know an alien that’s more human looking than the stereotype. Has Barry mentioned anyone named Kara?”

Leonard handed the phone back after a shutter, “I think he mentioned her a few times. Something about her singing the song he proposed to Iris with.” He pointed to the phone, “On another note, I think someone in one of Lewis’ early crews was going on about some creature that looked like that in the fifties. Something about playing dead and just missing being drug away or killed. Always thought he was crazy. Apparently, it was one of those freaks.”

“They invaded during that decade trying to learn more about our world. Come to find out, that meeting caused problems in our time thanks to some government morons and then the Particle Accelerator explosion.” Oliver took a breath and began to explain what all happened during that insane event.

Before he got to the end, Leonard put his hand up, “You said that a lot of the group was already mad at Barry, so I’m sure I know where this is going. Big bad aliens decide that the earth is too dangerous with Metahumans running around, so Scarlet decides the only option is to sacrifice himself as a test subject.” At the other man’s nod, he continued, “Obviously someone got over their little hissy fit since he’s here and not splayed open on the dissection table of some alien ship. Why were they mad at Barry of all people? I know he can be insufferable, but I never would have imagined his little goody-two-shoes friends being that angry at him.”

Oliver sighed, “After he defeated Zoom, Barry couldn’t quite deal with having watched him rip his father’s heart apart right in front of him. Losing both of his parents and having such a short time with them caused Barry to try and fix it all. He ran back in time and saved his mother. Something began to happen, and he had to beg Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, to kill his mother. When he returned, Caitlyn suddenly had ice powers, Cisco’s brother was dead, and Diggle’s daughter was now a son. When everyone found out, a lot of people got very angry with him, including Ray and Sara, Sara especially. She said if she could stop herself from killing the man responsible for killing her sister, he should have been able to stop himself from changing his own history. Cisco was mad at him for not saving his brother. He was pretty instrumental in causing some of the distrust from the others. Felicity, Kara, Professor Stein, Jax, and I were the only ones completely on his side.”

Leonard shook his head slowly, “Mick wouldn’t have cared either way. The others on the Waverider really needed to take a look in the mirror. I can’t tell you how many times we screwed up things in history. I’m very sure there wasn’t a rampaging bird woman attacking military personnel in the Pentagon in the eighties before we infiltrated it. Also, pretty sure Norway didn’t have a near nuclear event in the seventies before we tried to pretend to buy a nuclear weapon from Savage. There’s an island off Norway that is a testament to that glorious screw up. Who knew the team would become full of hypocrites after I died?”

The archer sighed, “A lot of things have changed since you left, and I can’t say all of them are for the better.” He wiped his hand down his face, “I do have to ask though. Why are you taking it so well that he tried to change his past? You seem a little irritated at what your own team did.”

“I can understand the pull. I said we were in the seventies at one point. Well, I was about three the year we were in, and I decided Mick, Jax, and I needed to take a little detour while Rip was away. You see,” the thief focused on a spot on the wall straight in front of him, “dear old dad wasn’t always the monster he became. He wasn’t the best father, but at least he never thought about hitting my mother or me. Then came the botched theft that got him thrown in jail as a dirty cop. After that, well, he decided that every screw up he made was mine or my mother’s fault and that gave him the right to beat the hell out of us.” He paused to banish the memories that were trying to claw their way to the surface. “Anyway, I saw an opportunity to change all of that. I made the perfect plan to steal the emerald and did exactly that, even delivered it to the bastard, but it didn’t change a damn thing. Idiot got caught trying to fence it to an undercover cop.” He turned to look at Oliver, “I don’t have a problem with what he did because I understand the pull to do it. I followed that pull too, and just like it did for him, it blew up in my face.”

Oliver gave him a small smile. “Well, I can tell you, the Waverider crew haven’t made any more comments since then, but that’s probably because they actually broke time at one point. How is a question you’d have to ask them. I only found out because of Ray talking about there being dinosaurs in LA.”

Leonard’s look of astonished surprise would have been funny if Oliver hadn’t seen the same one on his own face after Ray told them. After letting the thief wrap his mind around that, he continued the story of the alien invasion, explaining about Lilly Stein and her place in helping them finally defeat the Dominators. It was a wild ride the thief admitted. He was both sad and extremely glad he missed it.

Once the story was over, Leonard and Oliver sat in the quiet for a moment. The thief turned to watch the archer as if studying him. Finally, he spoke, “So, what was the actual abduction like?”

“Why are you interested?”

Leonard snorted, studying his fingers, “Sci-fi fan. Indulge me.”

Oliver rolled his eyes but, with a sigh, told him about the dream world he and the others were trapped in. Leonard frowned at the comment of Thea so willingly killing the man that was her biological father, Malcom Merlin. 

When the new story was done, the thief slowly nodded, “How did your girlfriend take them having you marrying your ex-girlfriend?”

“Felicity didn’t really have any opinion on the matter actually. At the time, we weren’t together. Besides, they had her with Ray and pretty serious at that.” He paused, looking away, “At one point, that wedding was expected and supposed to happen. But the Gambit happened instead. I got scared of commitment and ran away with Sara and that led to the complete upset of both of our lives.”

Leonard’s eyes bore into him before he finally blinked and tapped his fingers against his bicep, “That upset may have happened, but as I see it, things turned out for the better.” He turned his gaze to the ceiling as he felt Oliver’s gaze turn to him. “Bad things will always happen, but you’ve grown, changed, adapted to come out stronger. Now, you know how to react to the things life throws at you and who is actually there to watch your back through it all, and the people who will simply fold or turn on you.”

There was quiet after the statement until Oliver leaned back in his chair, “Is that from personal experience?”

The thief took a moment to consider the question before smirking over at the other man, “Maybe.”

Oliver shook his head with a slight smile. He didn’t honestly think he’d enjoy getting to know the thief that much. He found the man much less frustrating and irritating than expected. He wondered if that was why Sara was so drawn to him. He could remember what Cisco told them and the comments Felicity made about the extended version of the blonde assassin’s dream. This man was able to help Sara feel like she was a human again. There was something about him that was almost disarming. You could feel that he wanted you to be yourself with him. Oliver understood how he was able to con so many people over the years. He made people really want to believe in him. Oliver had learned to read people thanks to ARGUS and his own stint in the League. Leonard wasn’t trying to con him. He was being personable but not as someone else. He really was being himself, and Oliver found himself actually liking the thief. 

It was a short amount of time later that there was a knock on the door. Leonard looked over at the clock to see that it had been an hour since Oliver stepped into the room. He turned his gaze to the door to see Lisa walk in with a bag in her hand.

“Oh good,” the brunette smirked, eyeing both of them, “neither of you are dead or maimed. That’s progress.” She dangled the bag over her brother’s lap. “And here is your dinner.” After he took the bag, she patted his leg, “Aren’t you grateful to your wonderful little sister?”

Leonard rolled his eyes to look up at his sister, “Yeah,” he drawled, “thanks, Trainwreck.”

She scoffed, shoving him slightly, “Jerk.”

He chuckled as Oliver shook his head, looking away to hide a smile. “I’ll let you get to eating. I need to check in with my team.” The archer paused, “Just think about the offer, Leonard.” With that, he left the siblings alone.

After a moment passed and Leonard had taken a few bites, Lisa draped herself across one of the chairs, leg kicking over the arm, “So? Offer?”

The older thief rolled his eyes, “Queen offered to train me with these new ice powers of mine. He and Barry have some ideas about that apparently.”

She nodded slowly, “I think you should take him up on the offer. I enjoyed working out with Thea this morning. I’m sure tall, blonde, and brooding is a lot more intense, but Dr. Snow will kill him if he goes too quickly or hurts you too badly. And I think he may be a little afraid of the resident puppy named Barry.”

Leonard snorted, “As he should be. The kid has the potential to be as dark as they come, just like us. His past made sure of it.”

“Felicity said Barry has snapped before thanks to Roy, and he was terrifying, nearly killed that pretty boy detective, Eddie, before going after Oliver.”

The man frowned as he chewed on a slightly soggy fry. “Scarlet’s always had the capacity to blow because of all that pent-up rage.” He sighed at his meal, “I have got to get to a kitchen.”

Lisa pouted, “My purchase not good enough for your palette?”

“Not what I’m saying. I would just like to cook my own meal instead of constantly getting diner food. I didn’t teach myself to cook for nothing.”

“Is that really something you want them to know about? You aren’t worried they’ll take advantage of that skill?”

Leonard paused to consider his sister. Being able to cook was something he hadn’t even told Sara, but they’d had a food replicator on the Waverider. They didn’t get to the point of him cooking for her, though he’d been tempted so many times. Finally, he shrugged, “Don’t know if I even still remember the right recipes and amounts of ingredients. May as well try it out. If I’ve had to start all over with learning, no one will be willing to take advantage of anything.”

Lisa snorted, “Yeah, you sucked when you started out.” She smirked as he rolled his eyes. “And if you suck once again, Felicity will completely join you in not cooking for anyone. Oliver apparently won’t let her cook. Thea told me she makes crunchy and chewy eggs. In the same omelet.”

Leonard shuddered at the thought. Even Lisa wasn’t that bad when he started teaching her when she was five. He had to make sure she would be able to fend for herself if he was sent to juvie. He was glad he had since that was exactly what happened. He made sure to keep teaching her after he’d gotten home. She just didn’t enjoy it as much as he did after she started making the money to go out to the nice fancy restaurants, or she became old enough to frequent Saints and Sinners.

“How does that even work?” He finally spoke. 

Lisa shrugged, “You’d have to ask her. She’s the one that did it. I could barely write properly, but I wasn’t even that bad.”

Leonard nodded, “And you were a kid.”

She hummed her agreement. They were quiet for a few minutes as he finished his meal. After he was done, he stood and carried it to the trash. He stretched, shaking his hands out, then his shoulders and neck. Lisa could tell he was already becoming stir crazy. Neither one of them did well when it came to being still for long. She also knew he wasn’t quite ready to go out and deal with the rest of the Star City group, especially after hearing some of the comments Lisa told him she’d received. She probably shouldn’t have said anything, but Ramerez had pissed her off, and she doesn’t suffer idiots or asses well. Her brother wasn’t in the mood to deal with them when he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to keep up his strength or control. 

The man walked over to the other chair and sat down beside his sister. She slapped at his foot as he draped across the chair himself. He smirked at her before settling back in his chair. He may have begun to feel the inkling of impatience, but he would never give up his chance to just be in his sister’s company. However things went, he would face it as it came. For once, he wasn’t going to bother trying to make a plan. All these heroes made them go off rails anyway.


	4. The New Family in Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len's training really ramps up, and a new mob family emerges into the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this chapter is late! No real reason beyond I kinda forgot it was time for the update. I hope the extra wait is worth it! Hope you enjoy!

It was a week before Caitlyn was satisfied with Leonard’s progress enough to allow him to do more than laze around the small bedroom. So far, he was limited to small weights for endurance and muscle building, something he already found tedious. He wanted to do more, felt well enough to be able to, but Caitlyn wasn’t budging. She seemed to somehow find out every time he did anything that she hadn’t sanctioned. He suspected Cisco but didn’t have proof. Though Lisa had been hanging around the group from STAR labs much more than he thought at the beginning. Part of him wanted to tease her about Ramon like she did him over Sara, but he didn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to make her second guess the connections she’d made. 

Leonard thrummed his long fingers against the table where he sat after his last meager workout session. He hated to admit that he was a bit on the winded side, and his arms ached much more than he felt necessary. He refused to show it, still unwilling to show his weakness, not wanting to be taken advantage of. He knew this group wouldn’t, but he couldn’t turn it off, it was so ingrained within him.

Caitlyn kept cutting him looks as if she knew he was sore and was waiting for him to give any indication of it. Cisco sat, feet on the side railing, kicked back, as he ate from a large bag of twizzlers and talked with Felicity. Lisa was on the training mat, sparring against Thea. Oliver was still above ground in his mayor’s office. And Barry, well, Barry was standing right behind Leonard. He knew the smell of ozone, and the feeling of wind plus static anywhere. 

Slowly the male thief turned around as the others greeted the Speedster. The brunette had stopped by a couple of times after he’d healed up from his Metahuman battle to tell Leonard more stories from the past couple of years that he’d missed. It was an interesting story to hear, especially the portion about him and Iris meeting their daughter. The girl was only sixteen but was much more mature. She had an edge that Iris swore was her influence. Barry told him about the newspaper from the future in some room called the Time Vault. He’d worried, at first, that his daughter had to grow up without him, but that wasn’t the case at all. She was a happy girl living with her large, extended family with so many cousins, younger and older, and she couldn’t live without any of them. At least, that was the gist of what the Speedster had told him. Leonard had only half listened to most of it.

When he looked up at the man, Barry was smiling brightly at him, hands on his hips. He was wearing normal street clothes instead of his super suit. Leonard sighed heavily, which only made the Speedster smile brighter, as if he got joy from the thief’s exasperation. 

“Hello, Barry,” he finally drawled out when it was obvious the CSI wasn’t going to make a move until the time traveler acknowledged him. 

“Hello, Len,” the man tried to drawl back, but it fell flat as he coughed around it. “How the hell do you get your voice to do that?”

Leonard, Felicity, and Cisco snorted. Caitlyn shook her head. 

“I think,” Leonard enunciated, “the better question is: Len?”

Barry shrugged, slightly uncomfortably, “I think we’re all close enough by now that calling you ‘Snart’ feels wrong and ‘Leonard’ is so formal. And ‘Lenny’ is reserved for your sister and, um, yeah. Plus, you told me yourself that you hated the name ‘Leo’ when we were talking about the incident at my wedding. Thus,” he motioned towards the sprawled man, “Len.”

He hummed. He supposed that made sense. He was going to ignore the comment about ‘Lenny’ especially since there were so many curious eyes staring at him while Lisa was watching him with eyes alight with mischief. Yeah, he was not acknowledging whatever his sister told the Speedster. “I suppose that is better than you stuttering around trying to figure out what to call me any time we talk.”

“Aw,” Thea teased from the mat, “I think I rather like ‘Lenny’.”

Len did not groan, but it was a near thing. How had his life come to this? He was being teased by the Arrow’s baby sister. Now he understood how Lisa was able to get along with her so well. It had to be something to do with them both being younger sisters and having the same sense of humor.

With a sigh, he stood, nearly rolling his eyes as Caitlyn’s attention snapped to him. He wasn’t an invalid, dammit. “Do any of you have a regular schedule around here? I’m going to need to start figuring out how to feed myself if not.”

Barry snorted, “Change the subject all you want, Len.” He chuckled as the thief did roll his eyes. “Anyway, I can run out and grab you something, if you want.”

Len sighed, “Is there a kitchen around here actually?”

Felicity blinked as the others gazed at him in confusion. “Yeah,” the blonde stated slowly. “Oliver made sure it did after finding out about Barry’s caloric intake needs and for his doomsday prepper personality type.”

“Stocked?” Leonard questioned.

“Over stocked,” Thea clarified, having come to lean on the railing around the stage with his sister. “Why?”

“I would like to see if I can still cook, or if the Oculus scrambled that part of my brain.”

The group frowned at the thief’s wording. He learned over the course of the past couple of weeks he’d been awake that the group wasn’t too happy with his self-deprecating commentary, regardless of their own. He simply shrugged, waiting on their answer.

Finally, Cisco made a motion, “I know where it is. I’ll take you.” He shrugged, “Besides, I kinda want to see Captain Cold cook.”

Again, Leonard rolled his eyes but followed the engineer to the kitchen. The walk was quiet even though the thief knew the younger man wanted to say something. There was a tension in him that screamed it. The man had no poker face, and part of Len wondered if he could ever talk him into a game of poker or even high stakes gin. He could probably take the kid for everything he had. 

It didn’t take them long to reach the moderately sized kitchen. The thief stepped forward and began to immediately check out the pantry and refrigerator to see what ingredients were there. As he was walking through, categorizing everything, recipes began to pop into his mind. He remembered them, mentally smiling as the ones his mother and sister favored flashed across his memory. He picked one and began to quickly gather the items he needed and brought them to the counter, quickly getting to work. 

Cisco watched in awe as the man went right to arranging his things all around the counter, neatly and began to chop the vegetables and dice the meat. With practiced ease, Leonard began to season the food in front of him before beginning to sauté and pan fry the meat and vegetables with the skill of a chef. In no time, Cisco’s stomach began to growl as the scent of the cooking food floated through the air. 

Len chuckled at the sound, “Hungry, Cisco?”

“I haven’t really had the chance to eat much lately. There has been some,” the engineer paused, “interesting things going on in Central right now. We’ve got some new Metahumans that are trying to take over the underground from your and Lisa’s Rogues.

“And of course, there’s the big bad that has decided to make their issue with their lives as a personal attack from Barry.” Leonard continued for the other man. At the engineer’s shrug, the thief turned his attention back to his cooking. After a moment, he cleared his throat, and spoke up, “So, what have you been wanting to say since you decided to lead me here?”

Cisco’s eyes widened at the comment. “Um, you, uh, you noticed that, did you?” He watched the thief for a moment before he realized the older man wasn’t going to say anything. With a sigh, he continued, “I was the one that let Lisa know about your death. After my own older brother died, I felt like I couldn’t go on letting her not know after I found out. I started trying to find her after the Dominators incident. We actually helped each other a lot after that with our grief. She would sometimes call me just to have someone to sit on the phone with.” He paused, “I needed it too, and, especially when I was angry with Barry and when Barry was gone, I would call her for the same thing. I honestly think Cindy was a lot more jealous of Lisa than she ever told me.”

“And I suppose you never talked it over with your little girlfriend either.”

Cisco shook his head, “When it happened the first time that Cindy was over, I explained to her what was going on and why. She said she understood. She’d lost her mom at a young age, had a friend that she went to just like Lisa and I went to each other. I explained that Lisa told me I was her first real friend, and that I had to help her through it since I knew she wasn’t going to go to a grief group like I did.”

Leonard nodded, “Yeah, that’s not exactly our family’s speed.”

The engineer bit his lip, “We stayed in pretty close contact the whole time you’ve been gone. I couldn’t let her just fade away like I know she wanted to.”

After a moment, the thief sighed and turned to the other man, “And why are you telling me all of this?”

Cisco looked away, an uncomfortable air around him, “I guess I just wanted you to know that even though Mick wasn’t here and is still on the Waverider, and if you ever have to step out for a while because being back is suddenly becoming too much, Lisa has someone here for her.”

Len studied the younger man for a moment, taking in his body language, everything the other didn’t and couldn’t say. It was an interesting notion that the engineer wanted the approval of a thief. There was no need for it because Lisa was a grown woman that could very obviously take care of herself, and he knew if he ever just up and disappeared on her again, he wouldn’t have to worry about someone notifying her of his death. She was going to be the cause of it. That was the kind of woman he raised her to be: independent, strong, and able to hold her own against worthless pieces of crap like their father.

Finally, after making Cisco squirm some because he had that power and enjoyed using it from time to time, he finally answered, “Thanks. Lisa’s a big girl, she can take care of herself, but,” he paused to glance at the other man, “one can never have too many watching their back.”

Cisco’s eyes widened in surprise before a grin broke across his face, one he quickly tried to calm down. “This whole team has her back, Snart.” He cleared his throat, “And we have yours too, Len.” He quickly stepped to the doorway, “I’m going to let the others know dinner’s ready, and it smells awesome. I’ll also try to get Lisa in here first before Barry because he will eat everything in sight.”

“We’ll see about that, kid.” Leonard watched the engineer chuckle at the slight joke. At least their earlier interaction showed he hadn’t completely lost his edge when it came to this group.

It was a few minutes later that his little sister strolled in, “Aw, Lenny, you and Cisco must have had a nice conversation. He wasn’t hurt at all.” She leaned over and gave the older thief a kiss on his cheek, “So proud of you to have learned restraint, big brother.”

He rolled his eyes as he ruffled her hair, receiving an indignant squawk for his troubles. “I’m one step away from giving him a shovel talk the likes of which he’s never heard.”

Lisa snorted, “You’ll have to ask him about Cindy’s dad sometime. I’m pretty sure he gave Cisco one that could beat whatever you’d come up with since he would have actually followed through. You, my dear brother, wouldn’t.”

She nearly doubled over at the unimpressed look Leonard fixed her with. After a moment, he turned his attention back to his finishing touches. “We’ll see about that.”

The younger woman scoffed. There was a moment’s pause before her hand was rested gently on his shoulder blade. In a soft voice, she assured him, “Cisco and I aren’t anywhere near ready for that. I want to get used to you being here and alive again, and he’s dealing with the aftermath of a couple of ended relationships after Cindy. Neither one of us are ready for anything beyond friendship.”

Leonard sighed as he turned the heat off of his cooking. “I know. And I’m not so sure I’m going to be leaving like that again. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do. Death does that.”

She watched him for a moment, studying him. Finally, she leaned into his side, head tucked under his jaw. “You’ll stay until you get called away once again, and I’m ok with that. I want you to be you, not hold yourself back because you’re worried about what may happen. I will be ok. Now, I know I will be.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “Maybe I don’t want you to have to just be ok.”

She nudged him, “Love you, too, jerk.”

Moments later, they pulled away and began setting out his cooking across the counter. They plated their own meal and walked back to their temporary room. As they walked past the main area, the siblings could hear Barry’s stomach growl from where he was sitting at the computers. 

“Knock yourself out, Scarlet.”

The Speedster barely waited for the elder thief to finish the sentence before he darted out of the room towards the kitchen. Cisco groaned, “Damn, I knew I should have grabbed some of that before the bottomless pit was let loose.”

He suddenly had a plate of Len’s cooking in his hands, as did Felicity and Caitlyn before Barry sat in the chair, already eating even as the chair rolled back from his weight suddenly displacing it. With a shake of his head, Leonard led his sister on into the other room and away from the heroes that seemed to surround him lately.

He sat in one of the chairs, lounging with his feet up on the bed. Lisa rolled her eyes at him as she curled into the other chair. They ate in silence, the younger woman sporting a soft smile on her face. She could remember this meal from when she was little. Her brother made it all the time, probably because it was her favorite. Or maybe it was her favorite because he cooked it so often. It didn’t really matter; it was just a random thought in the quiet of the moment. She wondered if the others liked it. She glanced over at her brother to see a similar nostalgic look on his face.

Soon, they were placing their plates on the table as the comfortable quiet continued between them. Eventually, a knock sounded on the door, that was opened to reveal Barry and Caitlyn. The Speedster slipped in, “Just going to grab your dishes. I figured since you cooked, Len, I could clean up afterwards.”

Lisa raised an eyebrow at him, “More like you were volunteered because of your speed.”

He shrugged, “Maybe. It is faster this way.”

She stood and handed him the two plates, patting him on the shoulder. He chuckled and shook his head as he turned and left the room. Leonard’s attention was on the doctor. He eyed her, pretty sure he knew what she was wanting. Just like every other day after his workout so far, she was wanting and waiting to run tests.

Caitlyn stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her. At the sight of the doctor, Lisa chuckled before excusing herself to get a shower. She felt a little sorry that Thea hadn’t been able to eat any of her brother’s cooking, but she should have known to not take a shower while there was food around a Speedster.

Leonard sent a glare to the female thief before turning his attention back to Caitlyn. With a sigh, he leaned further back in his chair. “So, what’ll it be today, Snow.”

She rolled her eyes at him before taking the other seat. “I need you to be honest with me, Leonard.” At his raised eyebrow, she huffed out a harsh breath, “Yes, I’m telling a thief to be honest. Don’t go all melodramatic on me. I already know you think that everything is going too slow with your recovery and strength building. You don’t need to tell me that. What I want to know is an actual assessment, from you, as to how your body is taking what you’ve been allowed to do so far. This is important to your overall health, please keep that in mind, Len.”

The man was stubbornly quiet for a moment before giving a deep sigh, shoulders slumping. “Fine.” He ran a hand roughly over his face. “My muscles are still tiring out easily, but it’s not too long after I stop and settle that my quickened healing kicks in and any soreness goes away.” He paused for a moment, considering. He leaned heavily against his elbow, head resting in his hand. “I am a little winded after my workout sessions, run down and tired, but I also feel like I can push myself more, a lot more.”

Caitlyn watched him for a moment. She knew he was telling her the truth. She also knew he had a very different perception of pain and muscle fatigue. His past and everything since made sure of that. Mick told her about this man freezing and breaking his own hand off. “May I, after your next workout session, take radiographs to see any immediate effect there could be to your bones and joints?”

He wanted to say no. He wanted to remind her that he knew his body better than her and that he would know if there was something wrong. But he also knew that he had a skewed idea of normal. He’d become numb to most of his pain years ago. It was very possible that he may not know just how much damage was being done to his own body. He vividly remembered being able to walk through the entirety of Nanda Parbat moments after shattering his own frozen hand. Then there was the trip back to the Waverider and the little conference call in front of Mick’s temporary cell. After the initial shock that he forced himself to swallow and put away, his mind blocked out the pain and any signs of weakness possible.

With a deep sigh, he nodded. “You can. Where do you want me to go to keep from hitting everyone else with the radiation?”

She gave him a small smile, “You can follow me next time. I’ll make sure everyone is safe.”

He smirked at her. He was shocked at the fact that, since he’d woken up, he’d somehow become so much more open with this group, all of these heroes. He understood fitting in, mostly, with the crew of the Waverider. They were all some version of outcasts, just like him. They were outcasts trying to be better than what history said they were. But this group, especially the Flash’s group, were people that he actively attacked and threatened. He’d betrayed them, and even though he knew the STAR Labs jail situation hadn’t set well with Barry, he’d still circumvented his side of the deal. It was strange to have them now caring so much about him and his health. He understood them caring about Lisa, but he never thought anyone would really care about him outside the few that did already.

Caitlyn cleared her throat, “I think you can start working with your abilities in a couple of weeks depending on what the x-rays say.”

He gave her a nod. It was a few minutes later that she reached over, patted his arm as if it was something she did all the time, and stood to walk out of the room. As she left, he watched in slight awe. She felt comfortable enough with him for casual touch. So far, the only ones willing to try and get away with it were Lisa, Mick, Barry, and Sara. What was probably the most incredible was that the touch didn’t set off alarms as so many had in the past. Raymond set off more alarms than Caitlyn’s touch did. Just how far was he letting them in, and why didn’t he feel the need to push all of them away? They were heroes, and he was so far from it. Suddenly, the tingle of a memory from a day during one of the times he and Mick were on the outs when he was called to Saints and Sinners. He could hear the whisper of Mick telling him that no matter what he thought, Leonard was a hero to him.

He wasn’t sure he was ready to unpack all of that. He had enough to deal with at the moment than to deal with that.

********

The next day, Caitlyn got her radiographs. There was more damage being done than he’d actually thought. She took another set a couple of hours later, after a good meal and the nap she’d ordered. Those showed a great deal of healing. She prescribed an increase in caloric intake and more sleep. The next series of radiographs she took a week later showed a great deal of improvement. She ordered him to continue the eating and sleeping routine. 

He continued to improve and even began light sparring with Oliver and Diggle. They were surprised by how much his street fighting was influenced by the League’s style and how much fun they were having with it. 

Somehow, Leonard knew it wasn’t going to last. It was late at night, after everyone had settled in for the night. Leonard became restless. All of the terror from his past came flooding his dreams, morphing and twisting them into terrible nightmares.

Lisa woke up suddenly from the sharp biting cold and her brother’s whimpers and thrashing. She looked over at him and instantly knew he was trapped in a nightmare. She could hear him mumble out pleas for their father to not hurt her. She heard the names of his new friends on his lips. The louder his cries got, the colder the room became. Quickly, she pulled on her shoes and walked over to her brother. “Lenny? I need you to wake up, Lenny. Lewis is dead. He can’t hurt us or your friends. We’re safe, Lenny. You’re safe.”

The closer she got to him, the colder she felt. It was beginning to become painful to stand close to him or even stay in the room. She hit the panic button on her phone and moments later, she was pulled from the room and pushed into Cisco’s arms. The shorter dark-haired man wrapped her up against his chest. She turned her head to see Barry bouncing and rubbing his arms.

“He’s having a severe nightmare. He doesn’t get them often, but when he does, it’s bad. This one is bad. He’s dreaming of him and us being attacked and beaten by Lewis.” She felt they needed to know what they were up against.

Barry sighed as he turned to Caitlyn. “His dream is activating the threat center in his brain which is triggering his powers. You and Frost may be the only ones that can get to him right now.”

She nodded and brought her icy side to the forefront. Her hair had streaks of white. One eye was silver while the other remained brown. She turned and walked into the room.

“Leonard?” Caitlyn heard a whimper in response. It was a broken sound she never would have associated with the strong man. “Len, everything is ok. You’re in the Arrow’s Bunker in Star City.” She could get close to him, she could reach out and touch him, but she also knew how he was with touch on a good day.

It took a few more minutes, but finally he awoke with a yell of “NO!” and the room iced over.

Caitlyn gave a small shudder from the intense cold. Len’s eyes darted around the room wildly before finally landing on the doctor. He fought the urge to scramble backwards and away from her. It didn’t take long for his mind to clear since he was awake. He looked around when he noticed the sound of ice popping. She could tell the moment he realized where the ice came from. He immediately began to look around, trying to find Lisa, panic deep in his eyes. 

The doctor stepped forward, “Lisa’s already out of the room. She hit her panic button to notify us. Barry got her out the second he stepped out of Cisco’s portal. She’s safe.”

He slumped back in relief. As he began to calm down the ice began to slowly recede. The more it vanished, the closer she could get to him. His cold field was wide reaching and biting, but as the threat in his mind slowly went away, it faded as well. 

“What the hell happened?” He growled out.

Caitlyn sat in the seat beside his bed. “Lisa said you were having a severe nightmare. She heard you mumbling about Lewis and the people that are in your lives closest to you. She tried to wake you, but the room became too cold for her, so she had to call us.”

He sighed heavily, dragging his hand roughly over his face. “I didn’t damage anything, did I? Don’t see Queen being the type to forgive all that much.” He shifted his arm to rest over his eyes.

The doctor smiled at him, “He’s more forgiving than you’d think.”

Len snorted, “I think that’s more of Mrs. Queen’s department.”

Caitlyn coughed to disguise her laugh, “You’d be surprised, actually.”

The man relaxed further as he huffed out a laugh of his own. “So,” he drawled, “I suppose this means I need to start training for control of these little powers.”

Caitlyn pinched the bridge of her nose, “I honestly don’t like that idea. You are already using a lot of your stamina and energy. I don’t feel that it’s in your best interest to exert yourself more than you already are.”

Leonard removed the arm from his face to give the doctor a glare. “I will not put Lisa in danger again. I am not going to run the risk of losing control and hurting anyone here or around me.”

She sighed. She understood that sentiment, that fear. She felt it near constantly when she’d first started to awaken to her powers. “On Earth-2, the me there gave up the name Caitlyn Snow completely. She was known as Killer Frost, and she worked for Zoom.” She had to pause to take a breath before continuing, “After Barry returned from changing the timeline, I found out I suddenly had those same abilities, almost another personality in my mind. She fed off of the rage inside of me, and she eventually took me over. I worked with Savitar because he was basically Barry even if he was evil. I hurt people. I nearly killed my friends and my mom. I finally got it all under control, but it took me nearly a year to really become myself again. I’m still worried that I’ll snap one day and kill everyone I love.”

Len shook his head, “You aren’t a killer, Snow. You may have the notion in you, but you aren’t a killer. I know killers, hell, I am one, but you. No.”

She sighed deeply, “You aren’t simply a killer, Len. Not anymore, and something makes me doubt you were ever one.”

“Don’t have that much faith in me. It’ll be wasted.”

She scoffed, “I think that’s my choice.”

He shrugged, “Either way, you obviously know why I have to start training for control of these damn powers. I won’t be responsible for any of these people dying.”

Suddenly, her hair began to fade to white, her lips turned a dark shade of blue and one eye was pale white while the other remained brown, “I suppose we can work on some small things.” Her voice had a husky quality to it with an edge. 

Leonard could see his breath in the air again, but the temperature didn’t bother his skin. “Ok, small. And what exactly would that be?”

Frost gave him a wicked smile even as Caitlyn told her to go easy on him since he was still recovering from everything. The darker personality waved her concern away. She understood what this man meant to the group around them, even the ones most recently introduced. He probably meant the most to Barry, Lisa, and Quentin, the others were becoming extremely attached as well. She never quite understood the need for that attachment in life, but she’d started studying Caitlyn’s own thoughts and feelings about a certain pyro, and she felt like she was starting to put some pieces together. 

For the next couple of hours, after the woman assured those outside the room that everything was ok finally, Frost taught Leonard small exercises to perform to start gaining control over his abilities. Caitlyn advised him to work through his emotions and, without really having to talk to anyone, at least sift through things that can cause another severe backlash like he’d had overnight. He didn’t like admitting that he had feelings of any kind, but he knew it was important, especially during this phase of learning.

She left the room first, giving the man enough time to get changed. It was early, very early, but there was no going back to sleep for any of them. The moment Leonard stepped out of the room; he went straight for Lisa who was sitting beside Cisco. He pulled her gently out of the chair before pulling her into a large hug. She returned it just as tightly. She’d been terrified for him just as he’d been for her. Moments later, they made an escape to the kitchen so that Leonard could get to work on breakfast. Lisa wasn’t letting him out of her sight until she was sure he was ok. 

Barry watched Caitlyn for a moment before clearing his throat, “Is everything ok now?” He kept his voice low and soft.

“It will be. Len needs to start training with his ice abilities. Frost’s going to help like she did today. She’s already given him some exercises to work on control.” She paused for a moment, leaning against the railing, “he’s worried about hurting us with his powers if he feels threatened again.”

Barry sighed, a small smile playing across his lips, “And yet he keeps saying there’s no good in him.”

The doctor giggled, “He tried to play it off as not wanting to catch Oliver pissed off, but he’s not fooling anyone.”

Cisco snorted, “Maybe himself, but I think that’s more for show. I mean, you don’t do what he did and save free will but still think you aren’t a good guy.”

Caitlyn and Barry nodded. The man tapped his foot on the ground, “Of course, there’s also the whole thing with Sara.”

Cisco shook his head, “That’s still something I’m trying to wrap my head around.” He paused, looking up to the ceiling. With a sigh, he crossed his arms over his chest, “Is it sad that I think Snart’s better for Sara than Ava?”

The room was quiet for a moment before Barry broke it with a soft voice, “Could you tell? Did he love her?”

The engineer turned his attention to the CSI. “I mean, I’ve seen the look in Len’s eyes a couple of times before.” He studied his friend a moment before running his fingers through his hair, “Those being when you were looking at Iris in sickeningly loving awe and another time with Joe looking at Cecil.” He contemplated things for a moment, “Actually, I’ve also seen that look between Oliver and Felicity.” He gave a sharp nod, “So, going to say, yeah, he loved her.” He glanced in the direction the man in question and his sister had left, “I’m pretty sure he still does.”

Caitlyn hummed, “I agree. I’ve noticed the way he perks up when someone mentions her or the Waverider and what they’ve been up to.” She frowned, staring down at her shoes. “He’s going to be devastated when he finds out about Ava.”

Barry slowly nodded. Another voice cleared its throat and they turned to see Quentin standing there. “He’s not going to be happy, but he’s only going to want her to be happy. If she tells him she is, he’s not going to fight her, no matter what we may say to the contrary.”

Somehow, they all knew he was right. If Leonard Snart cared about someone, he wanted them to be happy. It was something he strove for Lisa to have, and the same went for Mick. Sara, especially if he loved her, would be no different. They also knew how he saw himself. They’d all gotten to know him fairly well over the past few weeks. The Oculus must have done something to make him slightly more open. He was no Leo, but they weren’t really sure they would want him to be. Leo was a completely different person, and while they all really liked him, it just didn’t sit well with any of them to think of Len becoming like him in a personable way.

Further discussion was ended by Lisa walking back into the room. “Lenny’s done with cooking breakfast if you guys want any.” She smiled at the sight of the older man, “Quentin! When did you get here?” She walked over to him with purpose, gripped his hand tightly, and began to pull him towards the kitchen, “You haven’t had the chance to eat my brother’s cooking yet. Come on. You’ll love it.”

The older man chuckled as he followed her, “Good to know that kitchen is getting used. Oliver hasn’t had the time since William’s come to live with him and Felicity. He tends to try to be at home as much as he can before night patrol.”

The brunette smiled at him, “Good. I’m glad he’s being a good dad. Besides, William is a cute kid.”

The older man nodded, “He really seems to be attached to Leonard as well.”

“Lenny can’t understand why, and it’s hilarious. He can’t wrap his head around the idea of it. I think it’s more to do with the fact that Lenny doesn’t think anyone can just like him and not be afraid of him, especially a kid from Central City.” For a moment she paused, “He tries to scare people off, afraid they’ll get too close. If they get too close, they can hurt him.”

“He’s tried to push you away.”

Lisa nodded even though she knew it wasn’t a question. “He’s tried, but fortunately I know him well enough to catch his BS. He tries to act like he’s some hardened badass, but to me he’s always been a giant dorky nerd.”

“Giving away my secrets, Lis? Come now.” Leonard purred as they stepped into the kitchen.

“You’ll get over it.”

“You wound me, Trainwreck.”

“Like I said, you’ll get over it, jerk.”

Leonard chuckled, “Alright, moving on since my sister has forgotten we’re supposed to be sitting down to eat.”

Quentin shrugged, “You two are entertaining enough that I don’t have to worry about being bored at least.”

The woman answered by handing him a plate and motioning to the food items spread out on the counter. The older thief had made sure to plan for a large meal, one that could even help satisfy a Speedster. The once police captain was pleasantly surprised to see some heart healthy options present. He knew Sara probably told Leonard about his heart, and the man remembered. It was a nice gesture. Quentin idly wondered how much was going to be left over for the Arrow group after Barry got finished.

The three of them sat down at the small table just as the other three entered the room. The Speedster hung back and let his two friends go first, but the moment they were seated around the room, he had multiple of the other plates filled with food, somehow, and quite impressively, carried to another table in the room and got to work on the meal.

They all agreed as one, now was the time for relaxing. Everything else could wait.

******

Over the course of the next few weeks, Len pushed himself even harder. He trained for control, forcing himself to learn every subtle hint of his ice abilities. Any changes of temperature he jumped on to return it to normal. He fought harder during the sparring matches with Oliver and Barry. The man no longer had his Cold Gun, no longer had any actual need for it. He surprised the group by showing off his sharpshooting skills. When it came to using a gun, he had better aim than even Oliver. The archer decided he wanted to see just how variable the thief’s skill set could be by starting to train him on multiple weapons. They were all shocked at how easily he took to them. In fact, that was something they noted with everything he did. He learned everything quickly. If Oliver gave him a test with the rest of his team, something he’d learned himself during his years away from home, Leonard was always the first to figure out the point behind it. His ability to catch on was amazing. His eidetic memory came in handy along with his ability to keep calm and strategize quickly. 

Of course, Caitlyn was not happy about all of the extra work he was putting in. Sure, she was amazed by his abilities and skills, but she was not happy with the effects and stress he was putting his body through as he trained. She understood his motivation, but she wasn’t happy with how he was getting the results. She was constantly having to deal with the strains he’d put on his body and the collapsing episodes from dehydration and glucose crashes. Lisa, Felicity, and Quentin were just as unimpressed with the effects and tended to lecture the man heavily. Felicity would also turn on both Oliver and Barry for allowing him to take things so far, as if they had any regulatory powers over the older thief.

*********

During the time between Lisa finding out about her brother’s death and his return, Sam Scudder and Rosa Dillon were broken out of jail by the woman’s brother, Roscoe. They soon learned of the decrease in the Rogue’s activity and decided it was their turn to take the top position in Central City’s underworld. They were going to rule it with the air of one of the families.

Sam smiled wickedly at the memory. He cleared his throat one night as the three of them continued to lay low so shortly after their escape. “I have the perfect idea.” 

The woman leaning against his side and the man cleaning his gun across from him both turned their full attention to him. “And what’s that, Scudder? You couldn’t even figure out how to get yourself out of jail without help.”

He glared at the other man in question. “I see a need in the criminal world right now since Snart isn’t around anymore, and as pretty and deadly as his sister is, she just doesn’t have what it takes to run a criminal empire without that brother of hers and their attack dog. We have to step in and remind Central that not everyone will bow to the likes of the Flash and the CCPD.”

The siblings turned their attention to the man. “And just how do you plan we do that, babe?” Rosa glanced up at him.

Sam smirked down at her, “There are even more Metahumans out there than the Rogues that are just waiting for someone to take control and lead them in an all-out war against the Flash, the CCPD, and the families.”

Rosco eyed the man, “And what? You know how to simply walk up to these Metahumans and recruit them against the Rogues? Or are we just going to go after the Rogues to turn them against Lisa?”

The Mirror Master shook his head, “You don’t start with the Rogues. In fact, we’ll save them for last unless they interfere. It may prove that they’ll be interested in joining us along the way.”

The woman leaned back to look up at her boyfriend, “You’d really allow the likes of Mardon and Walker in our group. They aren’t exactly the stable kind.”

Her brother muttered, “Freaking psychos.”

Sam snorted. The other man wasn’t wrong. “There’s a reason they’ll need to be dealt with later. They think they already have a united front when it comes to anyone on the outside, but if we go after them without backup or previous results, we won’t be able to recruit them let alone beat them. No, we need to come at them with the likes of the CCPD on its knees and the Flash dead. We do that, and the entire city will be ours, and the Rogues and the families will have no choice but to join us or take the consequences.”

Rosa gave him a bright swooning smile, but Rosco sat back in his seat, tapping a finger against the sole of his shoe. “Shouldn’t we see about taking out the families first? I mean, that could be a way to draw the Flash and the CCPD out, especially if we stir things up to create a massive turf war.”

The other two seemed to contemplate that for a moment. “I like that idea, Rosco. Now, we just need to start recruitment and get to work. We’ll rule this city before this year is up.”

The rest of the night was filled with research on their new recruits. After a few hours they had a few names to set about talking to the next day. Sam stretched as they all stood to head to their makeshift bedrooms. “And tomorrow starts the rise of the Family of Mirrors.”

“No, Sam. That name sucks. Try again, babe,” Rosa patted his back as she walked past to the bathroom to get a shower.

He frowned, “What’s so wrong with it?”

“Just keep trying, Sam. You’ll come up with something.” Rosco slipped into his area, leaving the other Metahuman to pout before storming to his own area.

The next few days were filled with talking to prospective members of their new Metahuman crime family. Finally, Scudder was able to determine a name for them, one the siblings agreed with: The Rispecchiare Family. It quite literally reflected their leader and his vision.

By the time the first month of their plan ended, they were strengthened by four new Metahumans. Sam was the head of the family with Rosa and Rosco being his seconds in command. The four new recruits were still low ranked criminals having not pulled off any big-time scores. That worked in their favor because that meant that they weren’t on the Flash’s radar just yet. They could more easily slip around and do their ground work. The planning started. The first act of business was going to be starting their turf war by slowly framing each of the mob families with acts against each other. They knew they just needed to get the ball rolling and the families would do the rest.

Three months after Scudder implemented his plans, they were ready to make their first strike against the families of Central: raiding a Santini armory. One of the new recruits, Jared Sykes, could manipulate light refraction to become completely invisible. He was easily able to slip in right under the guard’s noses and lift three of the family’s signature guns. 

The next day, Chris Sander, a Metahuman with the ability to manipulate metal, and Keira Williams, a Metahuman with Eagle sight, shot down three members of the Cassamento family. The Cassamento family was a relatively new family from Gotham that were already making a name for themselves with how quickly they were establishing their stronghold in their territories. CCPD’s Vice division hated them with a burning passion after the sharp increase in heroin distribution. They’d learned very early on in Gotham to cover their tracks as perfectly as possible. Central City didn’t have the relentless pursuit Gotham had, and they used that to their advantage. Now with three of their men dead, they were going to be looking for answers; answers that would lead them to the Santinis.

Jared pilfered signature weapons from yet another Gotham transfer, the Panessa family, so that Chris, Keira, and Rosco could take down multiple members of both the Santinies and the Cassamentos. In the span of four months, tension skyrocketed amongst the crime families as blame was being passed around through all of them, even ones that had not yet suffered casualties. Sam advised his group to simply sit back and let families do the rest of their work.

The next phase of their grand scheme would take place once the Flash stepped in to try and curb the fighting before a full-on war began. When that happened, they would make their next move: striking the Flash. This strike wasn’t going to be about taking the Flash down, not yet. It was about getting someone on the inside of Iron Heights for further recruitment.

The Metahumans went to ground, even those with big plans in the works, as the tension increased among the families. No one wanted to get drug into a turf war between the mob families. CCPD was beginning to run themselves into the ground trying to cool down the many confrontations. The Flash did what he could to stop as much destruction as possible, but eventually, after months of tension, even he and his team weren’t enough since they were dividing their attention between Central and Star as they worked with Leonard Snart.

It was time to implement the next step of Sam’s plan. They talked amongst each other, and it was decided that their fourth recruit was going to be the one to go into Iron Heights for new members. She was Crystal Sayers, and she could manipulate the carbon in her body and in the environment around her to increase her strength and protection. She’d become their tech analyst and developed multiple means for escape from the Meta-wing for Iron Heights. She was going to try to talk as many of the prisoners into helping their cause as possible, become members of their family, to take down the Flash, CCPD, and the Rogues.

Crystal started small with a few thefts in mob territory. Then came the property damage that led to eventual civilian injuries. That was when the Flash stepped in.

She laughed as she slammed her fist through the brittle door she’d syphoned carbon from. The force of her punch rocked the building, causing debris to fall around her. The door flew inside, shattering and sending shrapnel all over the room. Screams filled the air from the patrons inside the shop. She slipped inside and headed straight for the expensive jewels. The glass case they were within gave easily under her diamond coated hands. 

Before she could take anything, a blast of wind shot through the room and the civilians present disappeared. She spun to meet the Flash head on the moment he stopped and punched him directly in the chest. He coughed and sputtered, gripping his chest.

"Aw, it seems the Flash has finally come to play. Here to try and ruin my little bit of fun?" Crystal rolled the words as if tasting them. 

"Just trying to keep innocent people safe." He looked at her for the first time, slight confusion in his gaze. "You're new. Why are you trying to rob a jewelry store that belongs to the mob, deep in mob territory, while a war is starting?"

She shrugged, "Maybe I want some attention. They've been getting it all lately. That's too much like favoritism." She swung her foot up, catching the Speedster in the leg, causing it to collapse. "I don't like favoritism. It's not fair to everyone else."

The Flash stood on shaky legs, the injured one ready to buckle once again at any moment. "Not really the time to get jealous."

She smiled disarmingly, "Oh, there's always time for jealousy." With that, she swung out her fist, catching him in the jaw this time.

Barry fortunately saw it coming and moved with the punch to decrease the damage. He really didn't want to have to deal with a broken jaw along with the busted knee. 

They exchanged blows for a while longer, Cisco and Caitlyn yelling out their worry in his ear. His vitals were all over the place with the pain he was in from her diamond hard punches and kicks. She'd broken ribs and one of his hands. He had tendons and ligaments torn from her hits. His only solace was that she wasn't that much better. She'd taken quite a few of his shots as well. Her nose was bleeding and she was holding her ribs as if they were hurting. He knew that grinding feeling from the ends rubbing against each other much too well.

Suddenly, a portal opened behind her, and Cisco popped out with the Meta-dampening cuffs. Before she could react, he'd slapped them on her and promptly dropped her off in the back of the Metahuman transport van the CCPD had commissioned. The next instant, the engineer spirited his best friend back to STAR labs. 

In the back of the van, Crystal smiled. Everything was going completely to plan. 

Sam and the others watched, through his reflective surface. They were going to be even stronger very soon. Then it was time for their last phase.


	5. Turf War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mob war is underway.

Barry was training with Len when his cell phone began to ring. He hadn't been by the Bunker for a few days, so the thief wanted to get as much sparring in, Metahuman level, as possible. Leonard pulled back and jumped away from the Speedster's punch before nodding towards the phone. "Gonna get that?"

The CSI sighed heavily, "It's going to be work, and I really don't want to."

Len gave him an unimpressed look, "Really?"

Barry ran a hand through his hair, as he picked up the still ringing object, "I'm off today. The building tension caused by the mob families planning to start their turf war hasn't given me a chance to have many actual days off. I deserve more than one.” He looked at the item, “See, it’s Joe.” He sighed heavily, as he answered it, “Hey, Joe. What’s going on?”

The group watched as the Speedster walked to the other side of the room. Leonard glanced over at Oliver, "He's only getting a couple of days off from time to time, and he decides to come here to spar with me? Iris must be jealous."

Felicity snorted, "He needs the chance to be able to train in hand-to-hand combat. He's never had any formal training since Oliver tends to be so busy, or he's having to deal with the new Metahuman villain. She spent all day with him yesterday and had to work today anyway."

Caitlyn placed a hand on his shoulder before slipping it away. They were all touching him more often, and he found it still didn't cause his alarms to sound. "She's just glad Barry's getting the chance to relatively, safely, learn how to fight."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "I know Cisco has no idea how to fight, and I don't see that being something you'd be too fond of, Caitlyn, but I'm sure Oliver here could give him pointers and homework."

Felicity snorted, and Len caught the huff and eye roll from Oliver, "That's where the relatively safe part came in." The tech girl motioned to her husband, "Oliver shot him in the back with arrows during their first training session to teach Barry environmental awareness."

Leonard paused for a moment. He knew Oliver wouldn't hurt any of them without an actual reason, and he’d heard all of it before. It was just a little odd to be hearing it all so jokingly. 

Oliver groaned, "He got his revenge last year. He's moved past it, why can't everyone else?"

Felicity patted his cheek, "Because he's too forgiving, and you need to be reminded that you get overzealous sometimes, babe."

He sighed heavily, but before he could say anything, the Speedster in question walked back over, hand running over his face tiredly. "So, the Metahuman I caught a couple of months ago that put me out of commission for a few days just broke out of jail along with six others." He slumped in slight exhaustion. "Central really doesn't need this right now, not with all of the families at each other's throats."

Len eyed him, "How did that little problem start?"

"The Santinies shot and killed some members of the new families in town and things have just been getting worse from there. They're beginning to set up for a major turf war. In fact, I've been having to stop a lot of ugly skirmishes during patrol over the last few weeks."

Leonard frowned, "That's a bit sloppy for a Santini." He crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his jawline with his finger, "I know not all of the cousins are intelligent, but they have a deep enough fear of their Don that they wouldn't be that messy." He paused to consider the information before giving a small nod. "This feels like a set up to me. The families are being played so they'll take themselves out to make room for a larger player."

Barry sighed heavily, "That's what we've been afraid of. The only issue is that no one has made a move yet."

Lisa motioned to his phone, "That was probably it. You said there was a huge Iron Heights break out? I bet it's tied in to this war."

The Speedster shook his head, "I'm not going to say I disagree. You two know the criminal underworld a hell of a lot better than I do, no matter how well I can play the part, but right now we have to worry more about protecting the citizens of Central from the families than whatever else may be about to pop up or not."

Caitlyn stepped in, "But we will keep an eye out for more from the escapees."

Lisa slowly nodded, "I'll also get my Rogues out and find out what they can from the local loud mouths. There's going to be someone in every crew that has to brag about something they're doing."

Len nodded, "There was a reason my crew was never allowed to roam around without supervision. Loose lips and all that."

"Let me know if you find out anything?" Barry looked completely exhausted as he watched his friends."

"Of course, sweetie," Lisa patted his cheek. "Now I'm sure there is a department that is waiting on you to get back to work."

With one final bone-weary sigh, Barry ran out of the Bunker and to Iron Heights. 

Lisa made her way to the room they were using as a bedroom as Oliver and Diggle took up sparring with Len. She looked at her phone after she closed the door and took a seat on the edge of her bed. With a small sigh, she pressed a number and waited for her call to be answered. 

She only had to wait a moment before it was answered with, “Has something happened?”

“Never took you for the worrying kind, Hartley.”

A scoff came over the line, “Of course I’m worried. You’re the one that starts and ends our vacations from work. Now, I’ll ask again: has something happened?”

Lisa pinched the bridge of her nose, “Len is doing great, so you don’t have to worry about that. He’s getting stronger every day. He’ll be back to giving everyone in Central City hell in no time.” There was another scoff, and she knew the genius didn’t believe her. “Yeah, I know. He’s an antihero now, but he’s still not going to play as nice as the heroes want him to. Besides, when he’s back on that time ship of his, he’s going to be thieving for them. He may even call us in from time to time, but that’s beside the point. Right now, I need information, Hart.”

“What do I need to hack into?” The man was curious about the possible sanctioned theft, but he could focus.

“Not anything for hacking right now. I would like to know why you haven’t told me that the mob families are setting up for a war?”

The man sighed, “Because we’ve been trying to stay out of it. Someone is trying to recruit Metahumans for their own little team of criminals. We weren’t going to involve ourselves with those so far beneath us, but they’ve been recruiting for a few months now.”

“There was a prison break today. Any intel on that?”

“Not yet. We aren’t really sure who got pinched and what group they were from. They seemed to have made friends though while inside.” He paused for a moment. “Do you want us to do some digging?”

“Not anything that will get you in trouble or on their radar. Just some eavesdropping.”

“I think we could use a drink here, to celebrate Snart’s recovery and all.”

Lisa snorted, “Sure. Just make sure to keep your heads down. I can’t have you all being pulled into this mess. Report back to me what you find.”

“As if I would do anything else.” He paused for a moment before, “Take care.” With that, he hung up the phone.

She gave a small smile while shaking her head. She placed a hand on her face, leaning against her leg with her elbow. She had to have faith in her crew. They were going to be careful, all of them, and they were going to find out what they needed to know. She was going to report it back to Barry, and things were going to become safe in Central City once again. At least she hoped things were going to work out with everyone intact. Her and Lenny had become attached to all of these people. She knew it would set them both back if one of them was taken away. 

With a deep sigh, Lisa stood and headed back to the main arena area. She put on a confident smirk and made her way back to the rest of the group. Diggle was at Felicity’s side nursing a sprained wrist. She raised an eyebrow at the man who huffed a laugh, “That brother of yours has one hell of a wrist lock.”

She chuckled, “Yeah, he got a lot of practice in my young adult years. Too many handsy men got their wrists broken. Of course, they deserved every snapped bone, and should be glad they didn’t get what I had in store for them.”

Felicity eyed her while she spoke to the man, “How did the call go?”

Lisa turned the confident smirk on the hacker who gave her a blank stare right back. She wasn’t getting away with a mask, not with this group. Her shoulders slumped slightly, “Hartley agrees there’s an outside source that set up the mob families for their war. There are whispers that a new group is out there trying to recruit because they want to rule Central’s underground as the new crime lords. He and the other Rogues are going out to see what they can hear and learn. They’ll let me know whatever they find.”

“At least they’re safe. I know it can be worrisome to find out that your friends are possibly in danger.” The blonde smiled gently at the brunette, “And they’re probably in this group’s sights since they’re Metahumans. I know you trust them to be safe and all that, but I also know you worry about them, especially since they’ve done so much to help you through the hardest parts of Len’s short-term death.”

The brunette brushed her hair behind her ear, "They did. They really respected Lenny, and they still do, to be honest." She smiled as she turned her attention to her brother continuing to spar with Oliver. "I think in some ways they may even respect him more because of what he was willing to sacrifice to give everyone a chance. I know they worry about him."

John chuckled, "Good. The guy needs more friends than this group."

Felicity hit his leg, "Shut up, Diggle."

********

Eventually the two men ended their sparring session to go and cook dinner. Lisa was surprised with how well the two men got along. They snarled at each other at any chance they got, but there was a strange friendship between them. She couldn't even define anything about it, just knew that it was there. She supposed she shouldn't have been too surprised. The archer had formed a strange comrade with Mick as well according to the stories Oliver shared on the subject. 

It wasn't until nearly midnight, and the Arrow group was in the thick of their patrol that Lisa's phone rang, signaling a call from Mark, and hopefully he had intel. She quickly dismissed herself to take the call in their bedroom. "Hey, found out anything?"

Mark chuckled on the other line, "Eager, aren't you?"

"Just want to keep my city & investments safe. Besides, it's the only place where we can properly play." She knew she was laying it on thick, and she knew Mardon wouldn't buy any of it, but well...That's just how we Snarts are, you know that. Now that we have that established, what have you found?”

Mark chuckled once again, “Well, we were having a good time with some drinks when this guy that was sitting a few stools over began to brag about how the family he’s in just recruited a large number of Metahumans, and they were almost ready to make ‘him’ pay. They never specified who this ‘him’ was, but I suspect it’s the Flash since the guy also mentioned those recruits had just spent far too long in Iron Heights.”

“Did they say anything about what’s going on with the families?”

“No, but he did start laughing uncontrollably when it was brought up by someone else. Another patron asked if they were going to be part of the mob war, and that was when the laughing started as he shook his head.” He paused, and Lisa could hear Hartley saying something in the background. After a moment, Mark continued, “Hartley said the guy mumbled something about not needing to be involved anymore. It was hard to understand him through the drunk laughing, so he probably figured no one did.”

“Hartley’s just talented like that.” She chuckled with a shake of her head. “I’m sure it’s a curse as much as it’s a blessing.”

She laughed at his yelled, “It’s mostly a curse with these people!” in the background.

Mark snorted, “We’re going to keep a low profile, but we’ll keep an eye on the Flash for you. I know he’s been helping out you and Snart. We’re getting to see a different side of him thanks to the two of you and Hartley. We’ll make sure he stays safe.”

Lisa gave a soft sigh, “Thanks, Mark, but I want each of you taking care of yourselves as well.”

“Of course, Lisa, but you don’t have to worry about us. We’re smarter than some group that can’t make sure their members can keep their damn mouths shut.”

“Just keep an eye out for the ring leader and let us know if you find out anything else. They could have actually sent the man you saw out to lure others into recruitment. So, please, don’t get cocky, Mark. And the same goes for the rest of the crew. I trust that you can take care of yourselves, but I also don't want to have to break in new crew members. That just takes more effort than it's worth."

Mark snorted, "Sure, Lisa. I'll check in with you later. And you take care of yourself and that brother of yours. Don't let him bully anyone into letting him push himself too damn hard before he's ready."

She smiled, both reading between the lines. They were going to take care of themselves and each other. The two hung up shortly after.

Lisa stepped out of the room to bring the information to Felicity. Wild Dog stood beside the blonde, a glare already trained on Leonard as he sat helping William finish up his homework. The glare immediately switched to her as she took the hacker's other side. The brunette flipped him off as she filled the blonde in on what Mark and Hartley learned from their celebratory bar time. 

Felicity hummed, "This could become bigger. This new player must be setting the families up to destroy each other and leave a hole they can fill." She quickly did a search of upcoming events, just to see if there was anything that may be tempting for an up and coming mob family to use to make their names and presence noticed. A particular article gave her that exact information. "Well, this isn't good." She motioned to the screen, "Two big names will be in Central City in a few weeks. Apparently, the president and the head of the UN will be in town for a diversity summit."

Lisa frowned, "That may be the ultimate target. It would be one hell of a show of force if they could, even at the very least, abduct the two of them. It would be the ultimate show of power if they went even further."

Felicity tapped her finger against her chin before looking over at Lisa, “We have to warn Barry, especially after the comments Mardon and Hartley overheard. He needs to be ready.”

“I’ll call him.” Leonard stood from his spot beside William who was packing away his items. He sent his little sister a smirk, “Unless, of course, you want to call Cisco instead.”

She rolled her eyes, “Shut up, Lenny.” She glanced at the time. “I think it’ll be better if we at least wait until tomorrow morning. We have time to start planning on how to protect them and even find out if they’re going to be a target in the first place.”

Len nodded, “I believe they’ll be a target of opportunity, but I think them getting involved will be more about poor timing than anything.” His eyes scanned over the article quickly. “I’m surprised they’re still going through with this conference to be honest, especially with all the tension in Central. Wouldn’t that be considered a security risk?”

“You’d think. Maybe the thought is that the families will be more concerned with each other than they would be with such big names coming.” Felicity suggested. 

“Possible.” Leonard hummed, thoughtful. “Still think it’s a security risk.”

The others murmured their agreement. Lisa tapped his shoulder, “Either way, there’s not much we can really do tonight. We’ll get the information to STAR labs tomorrow morning. Let’s get to bed for now.”

“Wait,” Felicity wave her hand to stop them, “this could also be a target. There’s going to be a technology conference in the next couple of weeks. They may feel like they’re too low profile to be disturbed by the turf war.”

“So, we have two possible targets. Peachy.” Len thrummed his fingers along the table for a moment, studying the computer screen, “The technology conference is the more likely target, again, mostly by chance.” 

Lisa check her hip against the railing. “We’ll have to warn Barry and the others that he’s going to have to watch both since they’re equally likely to attract crazies.”

Shortly after those revelations, the Snart siblings decided it was time for bed. They’d inform Team Flash in the morning.

*********

The next morning, Lisa beat Len to calling STAR labs, letting Cisco know what they’d found, so they could begin to look into things on their end, and when they visited Star, they could begin to plan. 

Over the following couple of weeks things in the city only became tenser, until finally, it all came to a head the day of the conference. The families declared war against each other, and the results were violent and explosive. 

Barry was a blur of lightning as he ran all over the city, trying to protect the innocent civilians caught in the middle of the fighting. Then the Metahumans began to attack, and Barry became horribly overwhelmed. He was slammed against buildings and cars, had a wide assortment of things thrown at him, hitting like bullets. As soon as he could, he radioed in for assistance. 

Cisco looked to Caitlyn when the desperate call came through. “He’s not going to be able to handle this on his own. We’ve got to call in recruits.”

The doctor nodded, checking her computer feed, “Joe is already on his way with the CCPD. Iris is headed here for safety.” She turned to Cisco, “You need to get to Star and get help. Central is basically under siege.”

Footsteps clacked down the hallway as both Iris and Ralph entered the room. Cisco opened a portal, “Getting help from Star. Be right back!” He jumped through.

Iris and Ralph watched the man go before turning back to Caitlyn, “So, what do I need to do?” Ralph spoke up.

“Get ready to go out and help Barry. He’s being overwhelmed right now. His vitals are all over the place. Go now,” Caitlyn barked out.

The man gave a sharp nod before running out of the room to change to get out there. Iris set up shop at the computers, “He’s getting Oliver and his crew?”

Caitlyn nodded absently, “And a couple of others. I also need you to not freak out when some of them come through.” 

“So, he’s going to be bringing Snart and his sister to help as well?” She shrugged at the look the ice user gave her. “You think I don’t know who Barry’s been visiting so often. He told me immediately after he found out because he was so excited Snart was alive. I just haven’t had the chance yet to get out there and visit him myself.”

Caitlyn smiled, “Well, he’ll be here soon with his sister and the rest of the Star City group.”

The portal opened once again, and out walked everyone. When the portal closed, the group glanced around, making a note of where everyone was. Oliver and Len immediately walked over to Caitlyn while Lisa stepped into the doctor’s office to make a call.

“Lisa’s calling in backup,” Leonard informed them. “The Rogues will meet us in the epicenter. They’ll be able to get to Barry faster than we can.”

Caitlyn nodded, “Thanks. We’ve already sent Ralph. Cisco has suits for you and Lisa to change into so you’ll be more protected. I know you heal quickly, but I don’t want you to get hurt if you don’t have to.” 

He gave her a small smile, “Thanks for that.” He turned to Iris, “Good to see you again, Mrs. West-Allen.”

She gave him a smile, “It’s good to see you again too. And, please, I think you’ve earned the right to call me Iris,” she smirked at him, “hero.”

He dramatically rolled his eyes, “Please, Iris, don’t insult me.”

Caitlyn inelegantly snorted, “Whatever you say, Len.” She turned to Iris, “You should see this guy with William. That boy has a serious case of hero worship.”

Leonard rolled his eyes again, “How about we save all of this until after Central has been saved?”

Oliver and Felicity walked up then, “I agree,” the blonde woman slipped around the computer terminal. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I can get to work.”

The archer shared a look with Len before they went to suit up with Diggle following close behind them. Lisa took their spot with Cisco. “Hartley’s on his way here. He’ll be your backup, Felicity. The rest of the Rogues are headed out to Barry’s location.”

Cailtyn nodded, “And you’re going with Len to protect the conference?”

She gave a sound of confirmation.

“I’ll head over with them too,” Cisco spoke up. “Wally, Jesse, and Ralph are already headed to their assigned areas.” He shook his head, “I redirected Ralph. I really don’t want him meeting Shawna yet, not with Mark there. We all know he can be too oblivious to when, where, and who it’s ok to hit on.”

Iris motioned to Lisa and Felicity, “We need to watch him around all the women. He can be very annoying, but he is useful.”

As Caitlyn gave her a look, Cisco cleared his throat, “Debatable.” He turned to Lisa, “I made you a suit. It looks a lot like your usual clothes, just a lot more protective.”

She smiled seductively at him, “Thank you, sweetie.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek, “I’ll go change right now.”

Cisco watched her go with a dazed look in his eyes, as the remaining three women rolled their eyes at him.

It was shortly after that the group headed out to their respective stations. The city was covered in the families aiming to destroy each other and pick up the pieces as well as the city’s protectors, all fighting. The protectors were a united front against the warring mob, no matter how unorthodox their combination.

*****

Sam, Rosa, and Roscoe watched the chaos unfold. The war they’d stirred brought more than they could have imagined with the arrival of the Arrow and his crew. They knew Lisa would ask her Rogues to help, they’d counted on it actually. But with the addition of the heroes of the other, darker city, well, there was a real chance for expansion.

Roscoe cleared his throat, “I think the next phase is ready to be put into play.”

Rosa giggled maniacally as Sam’s smirk grew. “You’re right,” the man agreed. “Head out and see how much the Rogues actually like working for an ordinary human woman that is supporting the very man that put them in solitary and jail.” He turned to the woman at his side, “I think we need to make a big statement, especially if we want to recruit enough to expand very soon.”

Rosa nodded, “Let’s go. There are some very interesting and important people visiting for the little conference.”

With a smile, Sam called, “Gather up, everyone!” He paused for a moment to wait for the group to assemble. “We’re about to make our next move. Jared, Chris, and Keira, you three are with me and Rosa. Everyone else, you are with Roscoe. We are taking this city today!”

There was a loud cheer that sprung from the group.

*********

Roscoe led his group into the thick of the war. The Metahumans at his command attacked both sides, causing even more chaos. He watched with glee as a metal plate slammed into the Flash, trapping him against a wall. He was surprised to see the Trickster Jr. run over to the hero to help him out of the trap. Moments later, a bolt of lightning struck the responsible party.

“Spread out! Aim for the little heroes and the families’ high command. Make it look like it was from each other.” He eyed Mark, “I have a recruit to talk to.”

The few that had remained around him upon arriving on scene quickly joined the fray. One mentally caught an arrow from the Green Arrow and redirected it toward Roy Bivolo. Roy dodged it and quickly looked towards the archer only to see him focused on another target. The telekinetic Metahuman smiled at the slight distrust so quickly forming in the man’s eyes. He quickly rushed over to the Rainbow Raider, engaging him.

“I thought you and the Arrow were on the same team, Raider, and he just attacked you as if you were another common enemy.”

Roy again eyed the archer. He wasn’t aiming at any of the other Rogues, but he couldn’t be sure. Could the man have been tricking Lisa the entire time? Suddenly, the telekinetic was pistol whipped in the back of his head after a black cloud materialized behind him. 

Shawna stood in his place before stepping over the man’s downed body, “He redirected that arrow, Roy. He’s trying to pit us against each other.”

The man eyed her for a moment before glancing down at the unconscious man. He gave a small nod, “He’s one of the escapees.”

“Yep. A telekinetic. I saw Roscoe skulking around a few minutes ago. He’s behind this.” She snorted at the look the older man gave her. “Ok, so he’s conspiring with the person that’s behind this. Close enough.”

“We’ll need to be careful about sneak attacks like that in the future. It seems they’re using suspicion to tear the groups apart from within.”

“Of course, that’s the goal. That way there’s more destruction and less competition.”

The two shared another look before going their separate ways, leaving the downed Metahuman to his own devices. He’d be taken care of after everything was over. That head wound would be fine, maybe.

Roy headed over to where Oliver was, “Just want to warn you, Arrow, the ones that started all of this, they’re still trying to pit us against each other. They just used one of your arrows to look like you targeted me with it. Just want to warn you in case an attack looks to be coming from one of us. It wasn’t.”

The archer nodded, “Remember the same from us. We’re fighting for the same thing here: to protect Central City. We watch each other’s backs.”

Roy gave a noise of agreement before going back to using his abilities against their enemies to have them either fight each other, cower from everything in fear, or simply faint. He was going to stay near the Green Arrow to watch the man’s back. He was someone their bosses had grown close to, and he wasn’t going to let them lose someone else.

Oliver smiled slightly, quickly, as he notched another arrow to send it off towards yet another enemy. He was going to watch Roy’s back if the man was going to put that much trust in him.

In the meanwhile, Roscoe slipped his way through the masses, blending seamlessly with the shadows. It didn’t take him long to find Mark. The Weather Wizard was raining hail and lightning down on the Metahumans the mob hired, hitting some of the mob generals along the way. 

“Mardon!” Roscoe yelled out, “You’re really helping the Flash? After everything he did to you, the solitary confinement, the imprisonment? Why would you waste your time?”

Mark turned to the man before rolling his eyes, “I shoulda known you were going to have your hand in this crap. You working with whatever idiot thought it was a good idea to start a mob war?”

The other man scoffed, “We’re ridding the city of everyone not worthy of ruling it. And you shouldn’t be wasting your time as an attack dog for some chick, Cold’s kid sister or not. You are so much better than that. I’m the second in command to the Don of our new family, and we’re recruiting Metahumans with potential like yours. Join us, Mark. We’re going to rule Central City after we destroy all of the families and take down the entirety of Team Flash. We can take down the human protectors of Star City right here as well.”

The Weather Wizard rolled his eyes, “You couldn’t rule Star City or Central City. You couldn’t even rule a townhouse, Dillon. You don’t have the balls for it.”

Roscoe narrowed his eyes, “Says the one taking orders from a scared little bitch trying to be like her dead, worthless, big brother.”

Mark started to laugh, “You really don’t know, do you?” He laughed harder, taking a gasping breath. “Let me guess, your little ring leader is headed straight to the conference.” He threw a large ball of hail at someone behind Roscoe. “He’s about to get one hell of a surprise.” A lightning bolt hit another a distance behind Mark, a Metahuman about to take down Diggle. “Tell me, Dillon, who is your little leader?”

Roscoe sneered at the other man. “He can take care of Lisa and whatever pathetic member of Team Flash she has with her.”

The Weather Wizard began to laugh once again, creating a large whirlwind. It caught the other man within its funnel, slinging him into the air. In the next second, he cut the wind, causing Roscoe to slam into the ground. Before he lost consciousness, Mark knelt down and leaned in close, “Just so you know, Leonard Snart lives.” He slammed a hunk of ice into the man’s temple, knocking him out completely.

The Flash was there moments later, “Thanks for your help, Mardon.”

The other man nodded, “I’ve always hated this guy. He’s just a follower that likes to act like he’s some great leader.”

Barry smiled before speeding away with Roscoe’s unconscious form. He returned moments later, a smile still on his face, “One more for Iron Heights. We’re going to make it through this, I think.”

Suddenly, as if to prove the Speedster wrong, a cord of metal wrapped tightly around him and then his neck. It began to bend around his neck, causing his head to begin to tilt to the side. Mark’s eyes widened as the Flash’s eyes turned fearful. The criminal’s eyes darted around to try and find the one responsible. 

The pressure disappeared within moments of Barry beginning to buckle as an explosion went off and a man screamed. Mark lunged forward, unwrapping the metal from the Speedster’s neck and letting him take deep breaths. He held onto the cord and sent a bolt of lightning back to the controller. No one hurt anyone on his team, not anymore. Another scream sounded before being cut short. Mark dropped the chain and helped the Speedster to stand.

Barry sucked in deep breaths, trying to not react like his mind wanted him to. His lungs weren’t wanting to take air in as he continued to feel the chain wrapped around his neck. Mark was surprised as the other man’s panicked eyes begged him for help, hand clutching the Weather Wizard’s shoulder. 

“Come on, Kid, you’re ok. The chain’s gone.” Mark took the Speedster’s other hand ripped off the glove before pressing his fingers to his neck. “See, it’s gone. You need to slow down that breathing. That’s why you can’t get any breath.” He began to exaggerate his own breathing. “Breathe with me, Flash.” He made sure to continue his actions, but he was also sending off his own attacks, making sure they wouldn’t lose any ground they’d already made.

Finally, Barry’s breathing calmed. He leaned against the other man, “Thank you,” he weakly murmured.

“Sure thing, Flash. You’re important to Lisa now, and that’s good enough for me.” He checked the man over, “You good now?”

“Yeah,” the Speedster nodded, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He gave the man a smile before taking off once again.

Mark shook his head with a small smile. He knew what Barry just went through. It was a little surprising to realize the hero went through the same things he and the others did, but it made him respect the boy more.

It didn’t take long for the united front to begin to overcome the mobs and Metahumans. They pushed their lead, and it looked like it wouldn’t be too much longer, and it would all be over.

********

Leonard and Lisa stepped out of Cisco’s portal in front of the building hosting the conference. The engineer stepped out afterward. They eyed the streets, ready to defend the place. They were waiting and watching for whoever was going to come at them. They had a few attempting an attack, but with a combined effort from the three, they would quickly be ended. Some ended their attack with an ice slide into a portal that sent them face first into the brick wall. Others were stopped by gold solidifying around their feet and an icy breeze distracting them long enough for Cisco to breach them to Iron Heights.

It continued on that way, until a new, larger group came, led by two individuals Leonard despised: Sam Scudder and Rosa Dillon. The thief faded back into the shadows knowing he hadn’t been noticed yet as the Mirror Master signaled his Metahumans to surround the building. “We have a statement to make, everyone!” Sam called out.

A round of cheers rang out as the group split. The two leaders continued forward to meet Lisa and Cisco. Sam smirked, “A little girl and a geek are the only ones they could spare to protect this place?” He laughed as he turned to Rosa, “This is why we’re going to take this city.”

Cisco chuckled, “Sure, keep thinking that, Mirror Master. If that were the truth, the little war you started wouldn’t be breaking down right now.”

The man shrugged, “Enough of them are going to go to jail that the remainder of the families will be weak. We’ll still be able to take over, especially with the rest of our plan all ready to be played out.”

Lisa rolled her eyes, “You only added attacking the conference to the plan when the families started their war today.” She shook her head. “See, that was something Lenny always complained about you: no foreplanning.”

The man bristled at the comment, “If he was so great at foreplanning, then I guess he planned his own death, huh?”

Leonard walked out of the shadows, “The rumors of my death are sorely incorrect.” He took his place beside his sister, “Hello, Scudder. Still bending down and picking nothing up, I see.”

Sam’s eyes widened and his blood ran cold. How the hell? “You’re dead! People don’t just undie!” 

Rosa frowned, eyes flickering back and forth between her love and the man that was once their leader. She began to step back, fear coursing through her, just like she knew it was running through Sam.

“Oh, it happens much more than you think. There are quite a few just like me out there.” Leonard’s drawl was in full force. “But enough about me and the couple of reincarnated hawks and the assassin I know. Let’s talk about how this little plan of yours is already failing.”

Scudder straightened up, squaring his shoulders, “This plan has been months in the works. I had someone infiltrate Iron Heights and break Metahumans out to join us. The Rispecchiare family is stronger than you can even imagine! Just because you came back to life doesn’t mean you’re invincible! You don’t even have your gun anymore!”

With a dark chuckle, Leonard raised both of his hands, cold steam drifting from his palms, chilling the air around the two Metahuman family leaders. Out of fear, Rosa’s eyes glowed gold. Len and Cisco thanked their glasses for protecting them from the woman’s vertigo based powers. 

Lisa was not so lucky. She gripped her head as a wave of nausea crashed over her and crippling dizziness nearly brought her to her knees. She fought through it, not wanting to show any more weakness than she already had. She didn’t dare aim her gun at them though, too afraid of hitting her brother or Cisco. She stood as straight as possible, shoulders back, and eyes closed. She tried to breathe through the feeling of her world tipping and twisting around her. 

Cisco discretely stood in front of her and murmured, “Place your hand on my back. It’ll give your brain a point of reference to focus on, and you’ll be able to get everything set back to normal.”

“Ok,” she whispered before following through with the advice. 

Leonard drew the focus further from them, not that they were paid much attention anyway. “Cute trick,” he called as the chill increased, “I’m sure you can guess mine.”

Suddenly he shot an ice shard at Rosa’s head causing her to yelp and break her concentration on her abilities. Sam growled as the woman cowered. He darted his glance towards a metal surface just to the side of the group of heroes and anti-heroes before slipping back to one he knew was behind him. “Don’t think you’re going to win just because you don’t need that pretty little gun of yours anymore, Snart! You ain’t the only one with powers now!”

He jumped back to disappear within the metal reflective surface only to have the air knocked out of him. “Metal can’t reflect when there’s a sheet of ice over it causing a fog effect.” The smirk in the thief’s voice could be heard loud and clear.

Sam sneered, but something behind the group caused him to pause and a confident smirk, the first he’d truly felt since seeing Leonard Snart back to life. “You may think you have the upper hand, but we just upped our ante.”

They spun around to see two CEOs in the grips of two Metahumans under Sam and Rosa’s little mob family. Chris held a warped, sharpened piece of metal to one of the CEO’s throat as he led him forward, a devious grin on his face. Leonard recognized the man in Chris’ grip as Julyan Rathaway, Hartley’s younger brother. The jerk had cheered when his older brother was thrown away by their parents, and that made him less of a target they wanted to save and more of one they had to because it was ‘right’. Len hated the moral high ground. 

“Yes,” Leonard drawled, “you’re kidnapping a couple of brats whose employees will be happy to be rid of. That’s quite the bargaining chip.” He gave a clap that was dripping in sarcasm, “Good job.”

Sam sneered at him. “We have the CEOs and representatives of some of the highest profile technology corporations in the country in our grips. We have the upper hand.”

Lisa and Cisco mockingly blinked as they exchanged surprised looks, “Wow, Scudder, I didn’t know you had it in you,” the woman commented as a smirk formed of the Mirror Master’s lips. “I’m shocked you know so many large words.”

The smirk instantly fell as he launched himself at her. Before he could get very far, Cisco placed a breach in front of him and breached him into a wall. Rosa tried to use her powers once again, but Lisa quickly closed her eyes and kept her unseeing gaze on the ground. 

Len began to frost up the air around him to create his ice shards but noise from behind Rosa caught his attention. The other CEO and the representatives from the other technology companies were forced out of the building and to the forefront of the group, beside Rathaway.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Snart,” called the man holding Elijah Brassington of Brassington Industries. He held a large ball of writhing water in his hand not restraining the CEO. “Have you ever seen a person drown, Snart? It’s not a pretty sight. They gasp and claw and try so hard to get precious oxygen into their lungs, but the only thing they get in is more water, replacing that so badly needed air. The longer they’re under the more it burns.” He looked down at the man he was holding, “The same thing can happen on land if a victim isn’t treated quickly or aggressively enough. It’s even more intriguing to watch as someone that can manipulate water joins the process.” He began to form the ball of water above his hand, turning it into a snake-like shape. It slithered its way towards the captive man’s face. 

Len’s eyes started to glow bright blue. He kept his hands behind his back, manipulating the moisture in the air, chilling it. Lisa, noticing her brother’s actions, stepped forward to take attention away from him.

“Ahahah, I wouldn’t do that, girly,” Chris sneered, holding Julyan tighter with the sharpened metal closer to his throat. “I don’t have any problem slitting this little boy’s throat.”

Leonard snorted, “Right. Lisa and I are supposed to care about him?” He shook his head with a rueful smile on his face. “He was delighted to throw his older brother under the bus in order to 

get into his position as CEO and mommy and daddy’s favorite. Now, that did lead him right to us, but that doesn’t mean we don’t hold a grudge against him.”

Sam’s eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head as he turned to Vibe, “You’re ok with letting them cause all of these people to die?”

Cisco looked back at the other two before shrugging, “I wouldn’t mind getting back at the guy that helped turn Hartley into such a dick.” He knew his two friends were up to something. He could see it in their eyes. 

That admission caught the Metahuman mobsters off guard. “See one of your great heroes?” Rosa stepped forward to call out to not only the captives but anyone else that could hear her, “He’s willing to sacrifice these businessmen for a grudge!”

He shrugged again, “I don’t really care what you think I’m planning.” He raised his hands. “I mean, you are the ones that started this entire mob war anyway.”

The man holding Elijah, glared at the group. His snake of water began to twitch as he mentally manipulated it. It crept closer to Elijah’s face and began to sneak into his nose. The man began to choke and fight the Metahuman holding him. 

Cisco made to step forward, but Lisa grabbed his arm and gave him a shake of her head. He stood down but wasn’t sure what the plan was. Leonard stuffed his hands casually into his jacket pocket. “Yes, get rid of one of your only bargaining chips. That’s how you show how strong you are: no forethought.” He shook his head as he looked over at Sam, “You know all about that, don’t you Scudder?”

Sam growled at Len, “You have no idea what our goals are.” He turned his subordinate, “Cut the water, let the guy catch his breath, and we can go from there.” He smirked at the group. “We don’t want the fun ending so soon.”

Len chuckled, “No we don’t, but I am getting bored, and I’m not having any fun, so...” He shot his hands out, throwing multiple sharp ice shards at each of the Metahumans. 

Chris tried to deflect them with the piece of metal in his hand but quickly found the steel too cold to touch but was frozen to his hand. The water was soon turned against its manipulator as it took the form of another shard of ice and falling to sink deeply into the man’s hand. Rosa dodged out of the way, and Sam once again tried to phase into a reflective surface only to have Lisa coat it in her own molten metal. The man screamed in pain as the substance bled through his clothes and coated his hand. 

Rosa ran over to her boyfriend, hands hovering over him, afraid to touch. Suddenly the hot tar-like substance froze, cooling off. “You really need to chill, Scudder.” Leonard drawled.

The man breathed through his nose roughly, trying to calm his pain receptors. Before he could lash out, Cisco created a portal under him and Rosa, causing both to disappear and land right in the back of a police car armed with Meta-blockers. 

At seeing their bosses captured, the others broke rank and began to flee. They were quickly stopped and beaten into submission. One tried to throw the representative he was holding at Cisco, but the engineer caught him with a breach and gave him a soft landing in the grass. It wasn’t long after Sam and Rosa’s capture that the rest of their little mob family was corralled. The entire family wasn’t present, but Len, Cisco, and Lisa weren’t worried about them. They had no guidance, well less than they did. They’d go their own ways and eventually get caught once again, just like before when they were sent to Iron Heights.

The group of heroes, anti-heroes, and villains made their ways back to STAR labs to unwind and regroup. The atmosphere was quiet and strained as Caitlyn looked everyone over. Axel and Mark were quick to tell the doctor of the incidents with the Metahumans they’d faced so that Barry would get the care he needed. Shawna took care of any minor injuries on the rest. 

While the group sat around, waiting for the largest injuries to get fixed, Ralph glanced around at everyone. He recognized everyone there for their respective career choices. He eyed Lisa, only really knowing she was a thief by trade that used to go against the Flash alongside her brother and their friend. But the team was good friends with all three of them by now, so maybe he’d have a chance. He sauntered over to the brunette sitting with Cisco and leaning against Leonard. 

Ralph gave the woman, what he considered to be, a charming smile. “You’re new to the lab, I see. Would you like a special tour with a leading member of Team Flash?”

She eyed him and the leer she could see in his eyes. She gave him a seductive smile right back, “You know, I’d love a more in-depth tour than what I’ve given myself the many times I’ve broken in.” She turned to Cisco, “I would especially love to see your personal lab, Cisco-baby. Give me a tour?” She batted her eyelashes at the younger man.

Cisco blinked slightly but nodded, “Sure. I’m sure you and Len have already cased the entire place multiple times, but I’m sure I can show you some things you haven’t seen yet.”

Lisa stood and linked an arm around the man’s, gently tugging him up from his seat. Ralph frowned as the woman pushed past him, none to gently and sauntered away with Cisco, an increased amount of sway to her hips.

The Elastic man gave a whistle of appreciation before turning to Leonard. “Now just how the hell did someone like him get the attention of a chick like that?” He shook his head wistfully.

“He sucked the thermite bomb out of her neck that our dad put there to threaten me into working for him.” Len met the shocked look with a blank face.

Barry stepped over, breaking the tension around them, “So, Ralph, I see you’ve finally met Len. Leonard Snart,” he motioned to the other man, “Ralph Dibny, private investigator.”

“Snart?” Ralph hissed. “That criminal?”

The Speedster raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, the criminal that saved free will and just helped stop the newest mob family.” He waved his hand in the direction Lisa and Cisco walked, “Besides, you just tried to hit on his sister, Golden Glider.”

A whimper escaped the man, and Len smirked. “Lisa can certainly take care of herself, but I have to warn you, she doesn’t suffer creeps kindly. Be happy she reacted as she did and didn’t decide to deal with you like she did her last creepy stalker type.” Leonard gave the other man a dark grin, “I won’t say how he turned out, but there should be a police file on record with the list of injuries he incurred from a run in.”

Barry hid a smile before clearing his throat, “She was never a suspect in any assault cases like that.”

Len shook his head, “My Train Wreck knows how to cover her tracks. She learned from the best: me. Besides,” he threw a smirk at Ralph, “she wasn’t the first he’d harassed. She was simply the last.”

The Speedster snorted as Ralph paled and backed away, nearly tripping over a chair sitting nearby. Barry chuckled once he was out of hearing range, “Hopefully that will give Ralph something to think about, and he won’t be so hasty in hitting on every woman he can.”

“Every woman he can?” The ice user scoffed, “I’m surprised he hasn’t been dealt with already.”

“Caitlyn almost did. Of course, he hit on her while she was Killer Frost and got disappointed when he realized it was Caitlyn, but still. Caitlyn almost killed him.”

“I’m sure he has his uses. Not sure what they are, but he must.”

Barry snorted and opened his mouth to comment but was cut off by a yelp and the sound of a thud. Both men turned to see what happened only to be greeted with the sight of Ralph on the floor at Thea’s feet. The younger woman stood over him, fist tightly clenched and a hard glare in her eyes. “Touch me, and I’ll make sure Cailyn can’t put you back together. I’m not some ‘babe’ you can talk up. Try it again, and I will end you.”

Leonard sighed, “Lisa’s going to be upset she missed the show.”

Felicity cleared her throat from beside him, “Let her know I’ll send her a copy.”

The two Metahumans turned to the hacker to see her phone up, recording the incident as Oliver stepped in to threaten the other man as a good overprotective older brother. Felicity was snickering darkly behind her phone. Diggle, across the room talking to Shawna and Hartley, shook his head at the commotion. They probably should have warned Ralph much sooner. Oh well, it was too late by that point, and honestly too entertaining. 

It wasn’t long before the Metahuman in question skulked off and left the party. He certainly wasn’t interested in pushing his luck any further. First the strike out with Captain Cold’s sister and then a strike out with the Arrow’s sister really had him questioning some choices in his life. Maybe it was a brunette thing. He’d struck out pretty hard with Caitlyn as well. That had to be it. Blondes would be much more likely to understand and appreciate his form of admiration. Little did he know, that train of thought would get him close enough to death to actually see his life flash before his eyes.

The little get together of a debriefing and regrouping slowly began to disperse as everyone got fixed up and began to go their own way. That night, Len stayed at his old apartment, one that was truly his, for the first time in, apparently, years. Lisa’s touches were seen everywhere, so he knew she’d taken up caring for the small apartment. What had surprised them though was that Oliver owned an apartment in the building as well. It was something his team had set up shortly after they met Barry and found out he was the Flash. He wanted to be able to be there for his friend, so he got an apartment in Central City. It was usually only used when some huge event had them all come together, and he didn’t feel like going home after something so exhausting.

For Len and Lisa, it was time to return to Central City, their home. The Star City crew would be returning home after a good rest, but both groups would continue getting together for sparring and training. It was how they bonded. The group had become closer than anyone had ever expected, and it was going to stay that way. Leonard never expected that his number of people he cared about would expand so much. He wasn't bothered about the idea, not anymore. They could all take care of themselves, so he didn't feel that itch under his skin to break ties and run. In a way, they'd all become something of a family, one he never thought he'd have. He finally felt content with his life. A thought fluttered across his mind, whispering "For now".

**Author's Note:**

> This will be just one of many works to come that has been nearly 3 years in the making so far. I have a co-author that's been with me since the very beginning, including creating some of the surprises to come. She wants to stay anonymous, but she's in there too. Hope you enjoy!!!!


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